


The Black Princess

by Venetus



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Britannia, F/M, Genderbend Lelouch, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-08 20:29:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1955160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Venetus/pseuds/Venetus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU(Female Lelouch) Luluko is the heir to the throne. Though, many nobles doubt her abilities to run an empire. To show them her worth, she enters Ashford Academy, an all boys school that all the previous emperors have been to, though, it comes with costs. Luluko has to leave Nunnally and her hair behind. Then, she gets stuck with Gino and Suzaku as roommates. What happens when it seems like they're catching on to her scheme?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Luluko starred in the bathroom mirror at her long, raven hair that flowed down to her waist. It was the one feature she loved the most. Her hair was what set her apart from the other princesses and princes. Out of all disgusting offspring, she was the only one that had dark black hair. Not to mention, who had take her father’s violet eyes. 

With beautiful straight hair like her mother’s and gleaming purple eyes like her father’s, Luluko was absolutely beautiful (not that she had any intentions to use her looks for marriage). With just her dazzling appearance, the princess was definitely a candidate for the throne. 

All of the heirs before her went to Ashford Academy, an all boys school, and like hell she was going to back down from this. 

After openly being named the crown princess and first in line to the throne by Charles after her victory in the EU, Luluko noticed a couple things she still had to do. Every former ruler (including her father), had been to Ashford--the best all boys college in the world. There were many people already doubting her abilities, and pushing for Schneizel instead. So, she had her mindset of taking twice as many courses and her older brother had and earning higher marks. That’ll shut them up. 

Loosely grasping the scissors, she gazed at her hair in the mirror once more. She toyed with a collection of strands, bringing the open blades nearer. She sighed and set the scissors down on the sink in front of her. No. It was too hard. 

Luluko couldn’t muster up the courage to destroy something so important to her. Yes. She might be everything that a regular princess wasn’t, a military commander, and chess-obsessed, but her hair was something different. It connected her to Marianne, her dead mother. It was her last bit of the woman who raised her before being gunned down by terrorists. 

Gazing past the door-frame, and she called for Sayoko knowing that she couldn’t do the deed herself. The maid appeared shortly afterwards, glanced at the idle scissors and understood the predicament quickly. The princess was thankful that she didn’t have to explain everything, because it was very likely that the words wouldn’t leave her mouth. 

She followed Luluko into the tiled bathroom, where Luluko gently placed the scissors into Sayoko’s hand before moving in front of the sink. Anyone with eyes could tell that the silence was due to her unnatural caring for her hair. 

“How short?” Sayoko asked, running Luluko’s hair through her fingers. The princess cringed and frowned. It was happening. “Mistress. It’ll grow back quickly.” 

“ Yes. I know. Short enough to look like a male’s.” She mumbled back with her eyes glued onto the mirror. Like Sayako said, it would grow back right? Luluko released a long sigh, in her entire lifetime, she had only cut her hair once. Years and years of trimming and caring for her beautiful hair was being wasted in a matter of minutes. But there was no choice, to prove her worth to the world. 

Luluko vi Britannia was going to cut her hair, tear apart the life she had in Pendragon, leave her beloved and enter the all boys school just like the 98 rulers before her. Then when she was out of the horrid college with higher marks than Schneizel could have ever dreamed of, Luluko was going to grow her hair to the floor out of spite. 

“As you wish.” And thus, the horrid process began.

Sayoko placed Luluko’s dark hair between the reflective blades. Luluko grimaced as the snipping sound pricked her ears. Pieces of hair descended to the floor with every snip. If one looked down, it would look like a puddle of black hair covering their feet. One eye peered at the mirror, watching Sayoko destroy her beautiful hair. Previously waist-length, each cut brought the ends closer to her head and closer to looking like a male.

As Sayoko snipped away the last few long strands, Luluko reluctantly opened her other eye. The cold blades brushed against her ear as Sayoko began to even the strands out. It was difficult to believe that in a span of minutes, her beauty had been diminished. 

The cold persona appeared quickly, as she glanced at the mirror again. Horror filled her eyes, but she refused to let the disappointment show. “Sayako. Enroll me immediately as Lelouch Lamperouge. I’ve already told Rueben about my arrival, and now the official papers need to be sent before I leave for school Monday.”

(Line Break) 

Luluko dashed down the palace halls ignoring the maids asking her to stop for her own safety. She needed to find Nunnally. Since Luluko lived with her father in the grand palace as the heir, Nunnally resided in a different location. At first, she refused it over and over again before realizing that there was no point. If the emperor wanted something, he got it. Her dear sister was now a three hour drive away from her, but luckily for Luluko, her father allowed the servants and maid for Nunnally to be hand picked up her. She had transferred her best staff to serve and protect her. There was no way that she could leave something so important to her with strangers that she didn’t capture the loyalty of yet. Because of this, Luluko would visit Nunnally once a week, though they called and texted each other for hours on end sometimes. She dashed into Nunnally’s room and jumped onto her bed next to her. 

“Nunnally! I can’t believe I’m gonna have to leave you soon. Promise me you’ll stay safe, don’t talk to strangers, listen to Sayako, stay away from our brothers and sisters, call and write letters, continue your studies, practice piano and your singing, go to bed on time, brush your teeth, eat lots of food, and-” She rambled off quickly and listed everything that came to her head that Nunnally needed to do. It would be four months. Four months after this until she could be with her precious beautiful sister again. Her eyes filled with sadness at the simple thought. It was Saturday, only one day left until she had to leave for school. At least the faster she pushed herself to high marks, the faster Luluko could return to her beloved sister.

“Sister! I’m not a child anymore. I know all that stuff. You need to stay safe and protect yourself. Okay? Don’t fall in love with a boy and forget about me!” That beautiful voice. That clear, strong voice that could lead the princess out of anything. Nunnally. The one bright light in her own cold struggling life. She took her sister’s hands in her own before smiling at the warm touch. Indeed, as long it was for Nunnally, Luluko was positive that she could do anything. 

“W-what?! Nunnally, never in a millions years would I leave you for one of those pathetic, disgusting, vile, rude, annoying, idiots!” No. There was no way that a boy would cause her to forget Nunnally, in fact she didn’t even plan to fall in love. A lover would distract her from what was really important, and then only cause her trouble when they the relationship ended. Besides, she was enrolling as a regular boy among boys. What could possibly happen between her and someone else? Plus, boys were so stupid. They never looked at the heart of a girl. It was always for their title or for their appearance. That was the definition of shallow. 

“Awww… Thank you, but you don’t always need to have me holding you back. I want you to enjoy yourself.” There she goes again. Nunnally giving to everyone but herself. Caring for everyone’s feelings but her own. So innocent and sweet, just like a flower in the war field. Luluko would never betray that trust that her sister gave her. She wrapped her Nunnally into a tight hug. 

“I enjoy myself when I’m with you Nun-nun. I’ll only be gone until winter break. Plus, I’ll write lots and lots and lots of letters. Euphy and Cornelia will keep you company until then as well!” There were only a couple people she trusted to love Nunnally. Cornelia wouldn’t bother Nunnally because she reminded her of Euphemia. And Euphemia was Euphemia. She couldn’t be a killer or harmful towards anyone even if she tried. As for the letters and emails, Luluko had it all planned out. One email in the morning, and then a letter at night. Everyday. Even if she couldn’t hear Nunnally’s voice at least she could get replies and communicate in that way.. 

“I know sister. What about your hair? I remember you telling me about you cutting it… Does it look like a boy’s now?” That comment hit her like a rock to her heart. Ohhh… Her beautiful hair. Luluko unwrapped an arm to touch the hair before sighing and smiling. Nunnally always remembered everything that she ever said to her. For example, she told her sister that she was going to cut her hair for school a month ago and she still remembered. It was just another thing Luluko loved about her sweet sister. The way Nunnally protected her in Luluko’s worse times. Physically, the princess would always try to keep her sister from harm and in return, the younger sibling smiled when Luluko needed it most. 

“... Yeah. It does… I really liked my long hair though, it’s going to be a huge adjustment.” No matter how many times Luluko instinctively went to flip her hair over her shoulder, move the strands out of her face, or simply toy with them out of boredom, her hair would still be gone. Her beautiful hair. Gone. Annoyance flickered to her face before she released another sigh. Oh well. Just as Sayako said, it would hopefully grow back. 

“May I feel it?” Luluko moved from the bed to kneel on the floor facing the wall so Nunnally could reach it. She sighed lightly. Strike huge adjustment, it was almost like the end of the world to her. 

“Of course, but don’t pull!” Luluko lowered her head and gave Nunally a moment to search with her hands. Luluko gently guided Nunnally's hands to cup the back of her head, stroking the trimmed strands. She turned to see her little sister smiling brightly. Just another difference between the rest of her siblings and Nunnally. When she sent a picture of her hair to Clovis and Cornelia, they quickly texted back jokes of how ugly it looked clearly not sensing that this was a moment of weakness for the young princess in need of comfort. The of course, when she texted Euphemia the picture the pink-haired princess only gave compliments and best of wishes. Damn Cornelia and Clovis. Those asses. 

“I guess my big sister is my big brother now right?” Luluko pushed herself off the ground and smiled happily towards Nunnally. In the worst moments, her sister could clear the mood so easily. She resumed her old place by her sister’s side took her warm hand in her own again. 

Luluko lowered her voice to imitate a male’s, “Oh Yes. I’m a male and I like to exercise to grow muscles!” She never joked like that with her other siblings. All they ever saw was her cold unmoving mask that seemed it had lost all human emotions, but this was different. This was a smile and laughter that was only reserved for Nunnally. Because only Nunnally deserved it. 

The pair laughed and continued their conversation like that for the rest of the day. For it would be the last that Luluko would be able to spend with Nunnally until break. 

(Line Break) 

“Here we are your highness.” She looked out the window and smiled lightly. In front of the school was a beautiful garden with flowers of all kinds, plus a lake with a fountain the in the middle. The school itself was a beautiful golden white color and wrapped around the outside. Luluko look from the window to her guide and located where the dorms were quickly. Room 55 at the end of the fourth hall. It should be very quiet there so she could study without idiots bothering her. Looking back outside, she observed all the places with little to no people that she could use to study. There were a couple benches and a seat by the pond. 

“Hmmm… I’m not royalty at this school. I’m simply Lelouch Lamperouge, the scholarship student.” She mumbled as she glanced at her schedule and books, checking over them again. “Could you bring my bags to room… 55?” She asked as she left the car to travel there by foot. Most students were driven to their rooms, but she had to take the role of a poor scholarship student. Luluko wore the traditional black and gold uniform that was required by them all. She glanced around at everyone else talking on the grass, clearly catching up from this year to last year. Oh well. She didn’t have time for the thing call ‘socializing’. It was more of a ‘let me gain your loyalty so you’ll obey me when I become empress instead of Schneizel’ thing. Of course, coming to school with all these nobles will prove very useful. Hopefully. 

She walked to the dorms and entered the left branch before heading to the last room on the left. The halls were covered with dark velvet rug and paintings of the former headmasters. There were no windows, instead there was only the dim light of the lamps standing again the dark wooden wall. Dorms were to the right, while a servants room for them was to the left. How arrogant. The pathetic nobles couldn’t even go to school without bring their personal servants. There were two voices coming from the inside her assigned room, so it could be assumed that both of her roommates were already moved in. When she opened the door, Luluko realized that it was very possible that because of these two idiots there might be an A on her report card. 

Sliding her card in the scanner she entered to see two of the beds completely destroyed with books and papers scatter everywhere. Luluko stood in shock as they slowly turned to him with a smile on their faces, “Hey-o! Looks like we’ve gotten our roommate. Oh~ and its the pretty boy Lulu! Welcome! I’m Gino Weinberg and this Suzaku Kururugi! Pleasure to meet you.” He then stuck out a hand happily. She wasn’t sure what bothered her most. The fact this guy named Gino had called her a pretty boy or that the room was an utter mess. But she had to be careful, it wouldn’t be wise to burn many bridges. Especially when she was talking to the Knight of Three and heir to the noble family. Her eyes flickered with anger but she forced herself to also extend a hand. 

“The pleasure is mine. I’m surprised that you knew my name, Sir Weinberg, the Knight of Three.” She forced a light smile before continuing and ignoring that he had called her by that… term, “But I think you might have said it wrong, the name is Lelouch Lamperouge.” Luluko shook hands with Suzaku and Gino before dropping down on her own bed to organize the things in her book bag. She pulled out three large text books that she had lugging around and slid them under the bed before calling her driver once more to ask about the rest of her trunks, completely ignoring the fact that Gino looked like he was about to explode if he didn’t get to know her better. Instead, she ran a hand through her hair and rolled to turn away from them. Classes didn’t start until tomorrow, so unfortunately for Luluko, she had to find something to do until then. Maybe shopping for food. She grinned lightly at the idea of not having to spend the day with these two idiots who were currently talking about sports. Ugh. Sports. 

“Lelouch, do you play any sports?” Suzaku asked, clearly trying to get her to join the conversation. Luluko sighed as her ten minutes of silence between them had vanished. Oh well. She would join this conversation for a bit before heading out to stalk up on food to eat. There was no way she was eating that disgusting slop at school called a ‘meal’. Pushing her tired arms up from the bed, the princess released a sigh and tried to think of something that wouldn’t make her seem like a wuss, but didn’t give anything away at the same time. She could pilot a Knightmare, she could shoot a gun, she could ride a horse, and she could dance. Not very manly. Luluko decided to skip the fact that dancing was a skill she was born with and that she could pilot a Knightmare to match an ace’s skill. 

“Hmm? I’m pretty good with a gun and I ride horses.” She said flatly and watched Gino almost fall back laughing. She crossed her arms at that. “I’m not joking Gino. I can shoot a gun very well thank you.” What? Was it not believable? Luluko was pretty good at firing and she inherited much of her mother’s skill on the battlefield. She just couldn’t do any physical work. Being a good pilot just needed you to type controls and flick buttons. Piloting wasn’t very hard on the body. It annoyed her that he refused to believe her skill. Arrogant asshole. Maybe he would shut his trap if he realized that she was actually the heir. 

He raised his hands in a defensive stance after controllings his laughter, “I just thought it was funny that a nerd like you would ever think about touching a weapon, Mr. Honor Student. It’s the first this place has had in years you know.” Hm. So maybe they would take special interest in her. Just another way to form alliances between. “Besides with your girly arms and legs, who’d have ever thought?” Luluko gritted her teeth and frowned. He hit too close to the mark. Better to change the subject now, before they started joking about her being a girl. Having her cover blown on the first day would absolutly damage her reputation. So, she forced a smirk to take the place of the scowl. 

“Oh? How interesting. If you truly believe that then maybe you can arrange for the three of us to practice our skills together, sir.” She mocked, before pocketing her card and heading for the door. she was done with these idiots. It was almost noon and her driver said that luggage would be in her room at one. With this hour, Luluko planned to get herself something to eat, and maybe play a couple chess matches for extra money. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lunch to buy.” With that she walked out and closed the door behind her. Luluko sighed and continued walking down the halls to search for a restaurant. With the money that her father had given her, there wasn’t an extra penny for clothes or other luxuries. In fact, she had spent most it on the twenty different textbooks she needed for all the classes she was taking. Hooray for gambling.


	2. Chapter 2

Luluko frowned at the skyscraper before her, apparently this was where the ‘Black King’ played chess. She glanced down at her pocket where a wad of thirty one hundred bills snug in her pocket. It was her money from her father for the month. For some reason, the man thought that she should also go through the hardships of a money crise, though Schneizel certainly wasn’t limited on the amount he could spend when he was at school. Just mailing a letter everyday needed two dollars, then new clothes, textbooks, general necessities, and three meals a day. Her father didn’t say anything about earning the cash herself, so here she was. At the foot of a giant casino filled with petty criminals and drunk idiots. 

Taking a slow breath to hide her unease, she stepped into the place. Instantly, the smell of sex, alcohol, and sweat entered her nose. Dim lights lid the rooms and red carpet covered the floor. Cards and chips were stacked to the fill on tables by men and women chatting away. Drunks limped throughout the place, while nobles laughed at gambling games. Poor elevens girls wore extremely revealing clothes, and the males waited on filthy rich couples. The worse was a large stadium as the middle attraction, two brothers were being forced to fight until exhaustion. She made a mental note to tell Sayako to send a letter in her name to shut things like this down. Family was being pitted against each other for the amusement and profit of these monsters in a person’s body. Luluko sneered at them all. Basing victory on luck was stupid, and naive. To her, chess wasn’t a gambling game, it was still hard earned money. 

Her feet slowly dragged up the steps as she forced herself to ignore the horrible smell and head towards her final destination. Absolutely horrid. She entered a dark a hallway with only one lamp giving her barely enough light to see three feet in front of herself. Trying to remember the directions she found online, she turned right to come face to face to a door. Lifting a hand, Luluko knocked three times on the door and stepped in once it was opened. She smiled at the chessboard before allowing her eyes to look at the man she was playing. A fat noble, greasy, with long blonde hair. Disgusting. Slowly letting herself taking a seat in the armchair opposite to him,she smiled. It was hard to not let the discontent show. “Hello Mr. Black King. My name is L.L.” Hm. The man was allowing her to play white. How interesting, but she didn’t need it. After all, she was the Black Princess of Britannia. Not that he knew, to the noble she was simply a school boy. 

“Oh? A child? Do you know who I am? Are you sure you still want to play?” She watched as he leaned forward smirking at her. He reeked of arrogance, just like any other pathetic nobleman. To think that just because she was younger that he would be victorious? The world does not work like that. Even if the chess match would be difficult, the crown princess never backed out of anything. Ever. And she never lost. Plus, today she had a greater motive. Survival was above everything, minus Nunnally. Without this cash, it was very likely she would have to ask Reuben Ashford for money. He would gladly give it to her, since the Ashfords were a supporter of the vi Britannia line, but it didn’t feel right. Luluko hated being in debt to anyone, even a close friend. 

“Yes. I brought three thousand dollars. Shall we begin?” The match ended as a quick swift win for Luluko. Her few turns consisted of confidently slamming the chess pieces into their winning positions. Each strategic move had brought her closer to her ensured victory. “Checkmate. My three grand.” Grabbing the metal case of money sitting in the corner of the room, she opened it to confirm the amount. Nobles were often known for their poor sportsmanship. “It was fun.” She gave him a smirk before leaving the room to let the ‘Black King’ ponder with his mouth open of how he lost to a sixteen year old. 

It was almost five in the afternoon by the time she finished, thanks to the talking and the amount of time it took to find his room and the tower. Glancing around at the stores, she went to buy groceries. It was a task she hadn’t had much experience in. Her meals had usually been prepared by chefs. Those chefs were the ones in charge of this mundane activity. The bright packaging constantly distracted her as she scoured the aisles. They were products she’d never dreamed of--probably because they weren’t allowed when she resided with her father. Now, it was her current budget holding her back. She would do what she had to survive, and Luluko had read one or two books that talked about cooking. 

She headed back with three bags of groceries. Buying them had taken $35 from her recent gambling win. One bag filled with drinks and juices that she enjoyed, one with fresh fruit, and the last one contained snacks, plus vegetables that seemed easy to prepare into a dish. The white plastic bags felt as heavy as boulders for the physically unfit girl. Not that Luluko would ever admit it to anyone, but it felt torture carrying these three bags across road after road. To reach Babylon Tower and the small Japanese shop, it was more or less three miles of distance she had to cover. Halfway through, she had already set the bags on the ground to pant and catch her breath. Freaking exercise. Next time, she would drag Suzaku or Gino along to help her with these things. 

Upon finally--finally!--reaching her dorm, Luluko threw open the door to Suzaku and Gino playing video games on the her bed. Gino was propped against her pillow and backboard and Suzaku was laying down on his stomach with his elbows propping him up to stare at the screen. “Welcome back, princess,” Gino greeted, casting her a side glance before returning to the video game. “Suzaku! You come back here right now.” The noise of furious clicking filled the room as Luluko seethed with the bags still in her arms. Dropping them down by the mini-fridge, she clenched her fist together to refrain from murdering them both on the spot. The TV roared with the sound of their cars racing back and forth struggling for the lead. A gaming device of some kind that she couldn’t recognize was hooked up by wires of all kinds. She wondered which one she had to pull to destroy the thing completely. 

“Get your filthy selves off my bed. Now.” Suzaku mumbled something about it being Gino’s fault before moving to the floor. As for the Knight of Three, he simply sent her a teasing glance and grinned. 

“Are you gonna shoot me with that aim of yours if I don’t?” He smirked and refused to move. Luluko narrowed her eyes at him and simply sighed before dashing to the game console and turning it off. For dramatic effect, she also ripped out a couple extra cords and threw them onto Gino’s bed to the far left. This was why she hated boys. They were always so arrogant and rude. This was her bed! It didn’t matter her position or his position, this was her’s so the freaking Knight needed to move his butt off. “Don’t be such a party pooper. We have another controller.” He lifted it and smiled again. She scowled and pulled out more cords before throwing them onto the floor. They were making her pure, white, clean bed, dirty and filthy. “Okay, okay, okay! No need to throw a fit. I’m going. I’m going.” He raised his hands in a surrendering motion before rolling off the bed and sitting besides Suzaku. “I’ll plug the cords back…” Gino grumbled and pushed himself up. 

She sent him a smirk before brushing off her sheets, and sorted through her new groceries. The dorms, being for upperclassmen, were like hotels. Each one had a flat screen TV, three mini-fridges, a luxurious bathroom, nightstands that had multiple drawers, a closet for the each of them, and queen sized beds. The rugs were a dark red, and the curtains that hung match as well. Hanging from the wall was a black seventy inch television that seemed like it cost thousands of dollars. When you entered the bathroom, everything was snow white, plus gold edges on the cabinets and faucet handles. Then next to the shower area was a place for a jacuzzi. Large walk in closets for the each of them were placed in the entrance. All the students only wore school uniforms to school, so Luluko couldn’t comprehend why they had a small room to hold all their clothes. Truly, this dorm had everything that a regular boy could have wanted. Minus girls. 

The grocery bags crinkled annoyingly as she looked through them. She organized the products, placing them in either her mini-fridge or stacking them beside it. Two drinks went inside, two outside. The bananas she bought stayed outside, while all the other fruit was stuffed inside. As for the greens, she pushed them inside in front of the fruit. The last item she bought was snacks. Never in a million years would she ever think that this kind of food would go down her throat. Yet, here she was with chips, Pocky, a couple bags of dried fruit, and energy bars. Luluko placed them under her bed with caution because she predicted her hard earned food being taken by a man named Gino. The plastic shopping bags were put in one of the bathroom cabinets in case they would be needed for lining the trashbin later on. 

Once the task of sorting through the groceries was done, Luluko placed her thick textbooks on the nightstand beside her bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress with one of the heavy books in her lap and began to read. It was vital that she gained the highest score out of the students in the grade. Schneizel had done it, and so must she. Back in the homeland, she had discovered that her math, chemistry, english, and history were all senior level. There was only a couple things left for her to master, study of Knightmares, biology, and physics. If she managed to finish everything early, then starting her work on connections with the noble children would be simple. A win-win. There was only one thing she miscalculated, Suzaku and Gino. Her oh-so-amazing roommates. 

She felt a pair of eyes lock onto her, before the shifting of her mattress. “Off Kururugi. Now.” Luluko snapped in a cold voice, but never let her eyes leave from the book explaining every little function and piece of a Knightmare. Honestly, she had no time for these idiots. Using Gino to her advantage would be easy, but this Suzaku figure hadn’t shown her that he was worth anything. So for now, they were both thorns in her plan to secure the throne for herself. The one thing that gave her satisfaction was thinking of how it would play out when they discovered who she really was. The scene would be very interesting to watch. Or just seeing how the rest of the school sees her. 

“Sorry Lelouch! I just wanted to see what you were doing. School doesn’t start until tomorrow, besides, I doubt you’ll do bad. Why are you studying so hard?” Her eyes flickered up to meet his with anger and frustration. When someone talks to you in a cold tone, doesn’t that mean ‘get the hell away from me’? Or were these two boys too brain dead to understand that. Luluko saw Suzaku flinched back before nervously stuttering, “I-if you’re busy… I didn’t mean to bother you. I just sorta wanted to get to know you better. I mean, I don’t want to be stuck in the same dorm with someone that hates me.” He chuckled nervously as Luluko took in a deep breath and set the book aside. She could study when it got late and these two went to bed. 

“As an honor student, I have to work for my tuition. My parents died when Britannia invaded Japan, from that moment I had to learn to fend for myself. There was no one to lean on but myself. I work hard for my sister. She’s… crippled.” Luluko allowed sadness to brim her eyes, “I got into his school because of my grades. Since I was a small child, I tried to do my best in school, so when I turn seventeen, Ashford offered me this. Though, in a flash it could disappear. An honor student has to be in the top five students out of the grade, or their scholarship is taken away.” Her eyes flickered away. “I have to do this for my sister. I have to be able to meet important people here so I can make money for her.” It was partly true, Nunnally was important to her. No. Nunnally was her life, and her mother was dead. The age was a slight lie, but she would be seventeen soon enough. It was close-ish. Luluko released a heavy sigh before glancing at Gino who decided to listen in. “I worked hard for this spot, and I don’t plan to give it up.” 

She saw the two boys stunned into silence. Of course, they probably knew pain and suffering, but her story was horrible. It could be assumed that both Kururugi and Weinberg were here for the Knight program that Ashford offered. This college, trained Knights to serve their masters as well as offering a program with Knightmare training and other options. Any Knight who wanted a bright future would come here, and her father made sure that all the younger Knights of the Round went as well. So was Suzaku joining them? He was Japanese or an Eleven. The boy had to be absolutely amazing and have gained a great achievement to be even considered for it. Her eyes returned to Suzaku, as she decided that she would search up this name to study the interesting green eyed boy later. 

“Luluko. I’m sorry for that… I’ll leave you to study now… Gino or I won’t disturb you again.” Suzaku shot a look at Gino before offering her a sad smile and standing to leave. Luluko saw something in his eyes. Pity. He pitied her. He felt bad for her. He felt bad for her life. He felt that he should help her. This idiot… was feeling remorse for her. Pity meant weakness. By instinct, Luluko stood and grabbed Suzaku by the wrist. She forced herself to not yank him,but instead gently pulled him back. No. Way. Luluko vi Britannia was not weak and she refused to let these two morons look at her like that. Strenght. Pride. Power. The things that drove Britannia forward, she couldn’t be empress if she couldn’t hold that up. 

“Wait. I don’t want my past to change anything. I don’t need pity or worry from you. In fact, you shouldn’t need to carry this burden on your shoulders. It’s mine. These problems and mine. Believe me when I say it, I will make a life for my sister and I. So, please don’t give me those eyes.” She sighed before dropping back on her bed and continuing to read. Gino gave something like a ‘No problemo, pretty boy’ and returned to whatever he was doing. Suzaku nodded slowly, but the annoying look of pity didn’t leave his damned green eyes. A couple minutes passed and it seemed everything had gone back to normal. The two boys talked about their classes while Luluko continued to read furiously and stuff the information inside her head. 

The hours trickled by like water, and soon enough it was twelve a.m. Luluko had barely noticed when Suzaku and Gino to bed, instead she saw her watch flash the numbers before she almost dropped the book. It was important to sleep now. She couldn’t fall asleep in class on the first day! What kind of a impression would that leave? Releasing a heavy sigh, she quickly ate two apples to satisfy her rumbling stomach. Feeling that it was wrong for her to change in front of boys, she stood to walk over to her closet and looked herself in before searching for pajamas. When Luluko returned from her chess match and her shopping she found that her trunks were already organized the way she liked them, plus the extra text books she needed were already placed at her bed side. 

Finding clothes that completely cover every inch of her body wasn’t hard, mostly because Luluko hated showing skin of any kind. She changed in the closet and hung her uniform before returning outside. Dropping down on the bed, she pulled the blankets over her body, only to realize that she needed to set an alarm. There was no way in the seven circles of hell Luluko would wake on time without one. Sleeping in was her life, she stayed up late to work and slept in, making sure to get her seven hours of sleep per day to keep her brain running. Ungracefully smashing the buttons to set the time, Luluko let out a long yawn before finally finishing. Falling back on the bed once more, she smiled as the fluffy pillows and covers surrounded her body. After a hard day’s work of earning money and carrying groceries, this was heaven. Well. It was like that until the beeping sound of the alarm clock brought her back to reality.


	3. Chapter 3

 

The harsh morning light from the windows poured into the dorm room as Gino’s loud groan snatched her from the pleasant dreams of Nunnally. She shot up and took in a deep breath before sending a cold glare at the blonde man. Pushing herself up, she turned the alarm clock off and tried to run a head through her hair that was no longer there. It looked like she was smacking air, but the trio was too tired to notice. Slowly rising to her feet, Luluko padded over to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She stripped quickly and flicked on the shower to hot water. Stepping in, the magicient heat washed over her skin like a tidal wave. After a night of studying, and a day of shopping for groceries, this was perfection. It felt good to finally stop pretending that she was a male. Grabbing her shampoo, she dumped it into her hair before letting the water wash over her face and hair. 

A loud pounding at the door snatched her from the heavenly day dream. Obviously one of those morons. Why couldn’t they learn the meaning for privacy? She hadn’t been in the shower for more than ten minutes and they were already rushing her? Damn them. “Lelouchhhhhhh! Stop prettifying your hair! There are no girls in the school for you to impress anyways.” She was going to murder them. Releasing a long sigh, she ignored it and continued doing her hair. Conditioner, then shampoo, and conditioner again. Yup. That was how she always washed her hair, wrapping herself in a towel, she stepped out and stared into the bathroom mirror. Bubbles were no longer there, instead there was only a short cut of her once long hair. Drying her hair quickly, she slipped into the school uniform before glancing at a small red box she had placed there. The Imperial crest on the lid glistened in the light. Luluko reached for it and opened it to see her blue contacts. It wouldn’t be hard for anyone to recognize her with regular purple eyes. Slowly placing them on, she smiled at her new self. 

Luluko stepped out of the bathroom in full uniform to ready her books when, Suzaku stared at her for a second, noticing her interesting eye color. Points to him, he could use his eyes. Her reply was a simply shrug. The excuse for the eye color change had been circling in her head for days now.  “I don’t want glasses, and the store I went to ran out of clear contacts.” Well that took care of that. Dropping down her bed to have a morning snack, she opened her book once more to read while munching an apple. Six in the morning was the time Gino’s animal of a noise snatched her the dream world. School begun at seven-thirty and now it was only six-forty five. There was so much time to kill by reading, but no. Suzaku and Gino HAD to pull her into their random conversation that she didn’t care about. Or so she thought. 

“I heard some of the guys are heading over to Lilypond Academy to catch a peek of her highness Luluko vi Britannia. I think I heard Bismark talking about the emperor sending her there to study. Are you going to go with them?” Her cool calculating eyes looked up from the book with utter rage and hatred when she heard their conversation. She knew about that rumor and what her father had she to keep rumors away from her. Just that… It was disturbing for boys to want to see her. Gino was leaning against the wall with the same smile on his face as he engaged in conversation with Suzaku. “I think a couple of the noble children have met her before, and they say she’s to die for… Though, personally, I’ve worked with her on a couple missions before I and can’t say it’s just good looks at speak out to me. The Crown Princess is smart, but cold at the same time. Kudos to the guy that breaks through her cold shell.” 

“I know her as well.” Suzaku said in his usual happiness, “She was my commander during war with the EU, I’ve talked to her once, but I doubt she even knows my name. But I honestly think she’s just like any other girl, but she’s got higher expectations to live up to.” They were discussing  her.  They were talking about her as if she wasn’t five feet away from them.  Well, it meant that they didn’t see her as anyone else, but Lelouch Lamperouge and it also meant that other boys could be having the same conversation right now, but worse. She scowled at the thought, how immature. But at the current moment she was debating on whether to stop this conversation or just continue to ignore it. The choice was yanked away from her when Suzaku spoke again, “Hey Lelouch, I know you’re listening. Voice your opinion on the princess. None of us--minus Gino--will arrest you.” He gave her a small smile as Gino chuckled as well. 

Luluko set the book down and thought. It would have to be in character… She narrowed her eyes at them before speaking, “I don’t like the royal family in general. I understand that it’s because of them Britannia has done so well, but I don’t believe it’s fair to have everything you’ve ever wanted because of your birth.” She sighed and stood, “My personal opinion on her highness? I have absolutely, no idea. I’ve never met her before. As for the adventure the others are going on… I can’t say you won’t get beheaded if go.Besides, it’s the first day of school, the both of you should be studying and working on making a good impression.” Her books were tucked under her arm as she joined them in conversation. How interesting, maybe she would get to know what regular people thought of her. It would be easier to win them over if she knew what they disliked about her and the empire. “But let’s change the topic to something else. I don’t really care much for romance, but what are you goals here? I’ve been curious to why two Knights are attending Ashford.” 

Suzaku spoke first, his eyes shining with light embarrassment from the compliment. “I’m not actually a Knight yet, being Japanese and all… I doubt anyone would want me. The reason I am at this school, is because I caught a terrorist in Area Nine.” He looked at the ceiling, “That’s also how I met Gino. That’s about it.” Luluko smiled lightly, it was goal for most regular citizens or numbers to try and gain a noble title. Hm. Suzaku seemed no different, but she knew that he had served as a subordinate before, his fighting skills were absolutely above normal. He could have easily became a knight if it wasn’t for his nationality. But, what? It had been two years since she’d last seen him fight and Luluko couldn’t say that the memory was very clear. Had he gotten better? Lost some skill? There was no way to tell, besides, it wasn’t possible for Suzaku to become a Knight piloting a Sutherland. Her observations were interrupted by Gino elbowing his green eyed friend to get him to continue. “Oh. Yeah. The person I wanna serve under… It’s probably never happen and I could bleed myself out before she’ll notice me. But.. I want to serve under the Crown Princess.” He sighed and gave Luluko a small smile from embarrassment. 

  
  
  


The emotional mask broke for a second, shock flickered across her face before she returned to that usual frown-ish expression. “That’s a noble goal. I think you’ll do well. What about you Sir Weinberg? Any things you want to accomplish in this place?” So. Kururugi was aiming to be her Knight? Well depending on how he treated Lelouch here, she might give him that spark of hope or let his dreams crash down. His nationality didn’t bother her at all. Why should people be judged on how they were born? It sounds hypocritical for her to say that, but after leading victory after victory, Luluko was firmly sure that she deserved this position. Suzaku had worked for his position as well, and she honored that. The guy wasn’t another spoiled noble. How amusing, another chess piece for her. If this continued, she would have more than enough people supporting her. Now it was Gino’s turn. Starting with her two roommates wouldn’t be a bad plan at all. Luluko’s eyes met his and she smiled lightly. 

“Goals? Well...His majesty told me that he wanted me to attend school and that it was required of all Knights of the Round. The programs for Knights should be quite outstanding.” Luluko frowned lightly before letting him continue, “Personally, I don’t think I really have a choice…I’ll serve whoever the next emperor or empress is. Though, just like any other Knight, I want to become the Knight of One.” That was normal. Luluko nodded her head in understanding. So if Gino didn’t have a purpose, she would give him one. After all, once her father died, she planned to make changes to the empire of Britannia. 

“Good goals as well. As for myself, I have absolutely, no idea. There seems to be no place for me… Even if I do manage to make a successful company, nobles and royalty will always be above me. I won’t mind gaining a noble title from the Crown Princess. So… I guess if you do end up becoming her Knight, Kururugi, put in a good word for me. But really, all I want is for my sister to have happiness. Even if it means giving up my own.” It was the truth, and Luluko couldn’t act as well if everything she said were lies. She wanted Nunnally to be happy, above everything. She glared at Gino and Suzaku who continued to give her the pity look. It annoyed her to the end of the earth and back that they looked at her like a charity case. “Stop looking at me like I crawled out of the sewers. It’s almost time for class to begin. Let’s go.” 

Luluko brushed pasted the two of them and swiftly ended the conversation. Upon leaving the class A dorms, she sighed loudly and watched the two boys that shared a room with her head to the right of the school. The section that belonged to the Knights in training (or masters in Gino’s and Suzaku’s case). Ashford trained Knights as well as hosted regular students, which was quite unusual, but the programs exceeded very well. Classes for them ranged from Knightmare training to medical classes. The hundreds of students on the green grass either bared right or left. Every single one of them knew their positions and what they chose to do with their lives. Some were born to lead, while other took the roles of following. For Knights, instead of learning about math and history, their sole focus was to learn how to protect and destroy. In fact, many of the Knights of the Round came to this school to study. Thus, automatically making the academy popular everywhere.  

Luluko found herself heading towards the right area as well. Thanks to her overly ambitious goals, she was taking classes of all kinds. Ugh. It was going involve a lot of walking to travel from class to class. First period for her was, ‘Knightmare simulation, class A’ slowly she followed the group of students towards the building. Each one of her peers were frowning at her in wonder, trying to discover why such a fragile looking boy was joining them for one of the most advance arts in the military. Each one of the others were taller, stronger, and over all buffer than she could ever be. Too bad she would crush them in battle. The princess had been piloting Knightmares since she was twelve. Four years of experience, and she was quite sure that Gino might even have a hard time beating her. They didn’t really need a strong physical form to pilot. It was just a coincidence that the best pilots were also brilliant fighters as well.   Hm. She was actually looking forward to all her class. After all, Luluko would do well in all of them. 

The first thing she saw when she entered into the school were paintings. So many paintings. They hung all over the walls, portraying the famous Knights that graduated from Ashford that went on to work for royalty or famous nobles. With the pieces of artwork covering the walls, it seemed that truly anyone who accomplished anything was here. Humph. She’d better see her face up on the wall when she left from this school. Luluko made a mental note to tell Rueben that. The group continued on through the halls that were decorated with gold on the sides as well on the roof. One might have mistaken the school for a home of sort because of the all the decorations and expensive things on display. When they finally entered the halls for class, it looked like a different world. Each class took place in a gym instead of a classroom, and instead of desk there were weapons and dummies. Luluko’s eyes flickered towards the fifth gym, which held the location of her first class. Glancing to the side of her, it seemed that Gino and Suzaku shared the class with her as well. 

The class of twenty people all stood at attention in a straight line when their teacher finally appeared: Ms. Villetta Nu. Then bam. Just like that, Luluko knew that she hated the women. Those judging eyes swept down the line before stopping on her with disgust. After finishing examining each student, she returned to the front-center. “Class. Welcome to the beginning of your training with a knightmare. I’m sure most of you have piloted one before. As for the couple of you that haven’t…” Their eyes locked, Luluko’s artificial cold burning eyes stared met the Villetta’s in a challenge. It only last for a second before she knew that this woman was going to screw with her now. “You’ll all learn soon enough. For now, I would like to see your scores in combat first hand. When piloting a Knightmare, there are special uniforms that you must wear. They will be passed out once you receive your simulator number. Go there once I assign them to you, the person across from you will face you off in battle first. Lamperouge, one. Weinberg,two. Kururugi, three. Blackwood, four…” She continued as Luluko headed to machine she was assigned to before exchanging a look with Gino when they were both climbing up the ladders. 

The uniforms were passed out in a matter of minutes, slipping into the simulator, she quickly changed in there. Other males seemed to have no problem with slipping into the uniform without a changing room. Like in hell she was doing that, even with other females there no way she could. Luluko valued her privacy more than showing off her abs to others. Sticking her head outside of the machine she glanced at the others changing before returning into her own cockpit. Everyone was almost done. It seemed that the class was going to start soon. Another minute or two passed before Ms. Villetta's face appeared on the screen. “Alright. Your scores will be show to the entire class on the board, so I suggest you do well if you don’t want to look like an utter fool. These machines are exactly the same as the ones you will use in the military. There are little to no changes in the hardware. Communication lines will be open, begin on my count: Three. Two. One.” 

Luluko didn’t plan to win. If she tried to aim for the top and succeeded it would make others that were more professional look bad. Thus, creating enemies that she didn’t want. “Go easy on me, Sir Weinberg. I just took this class to try this out. Who knows? Maybe my destiny lies in being a Knight.” She said through communications while scanning the landscape. They were in a virtual mountain biome. Snow covered the ground, making it hard to move quickly. Tall pine trees loomed over her machine, blocking any escape if she was cornered. It wasn’t possible that she would be able to hold her own against Gino if the battle dragged out. There had to be something in this environment she could use against him. It would be possible to cause avalanche, that would do a good amount of damage if it hit him. If. Luluko hated leaving things up to chance. 

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by Gino’s Knightmare appearing to the right of her. “No way pretty boy!” A loud swear was released from her mouth as she reacted. Dashing to the left, it was obvious that she needed to escape the circle of trees. The enemy was on her tail, as Luluko dodged  as a slash-harken was shot towards her head. Growling, she circled around a tree and shot Gino in the leg. The attack did little-to-none damage. Luluko shot again aiming for his head, sadly, another slash-harken was shot at her leg slicing it half-way. “Dammit!” Luluko pushed her Knightmare to speed away, but with the injury, she was slowed by a great amount. Twist around she blindly shot her slash-harkens, one skimmed the other Knightmare’s head while the one missed completely. Another trail of swears flowed from her mouth, as Gino laughed from the other side. Screw it all. Stopping at the last moment, she twist around to bash her fist into the center of the Knightmare. Needless to say, the screen for her went dark in the next moment or so. 

Luluko exited with a scowl on her face. Ugh. Damn Sutherlands. If this was her personal Knightmare… She would have no problem at least hacking up Gino. Yet, for some reason when she exited, the blonde idiot smiled at her. “Not bad Lelouch. I thought you had me for a second there… Maybe I’ll take you on in my personal forces. Stop looking so upset, you scored right under Suzaku. Eighty-nine percent isn’t that far off from putting you as an Ace.” Her eyes flickered back to the television attached to the wall that showed their class rankings. Gino pulled in first with an ninety-seven, while Suzaku snagged second with ninety-four. Then her name. Right after Knights from the military, it wasn’t BAD. It just wasn’t good to her. Luluko’s highest score was ninety-six, which placed in league with the Aces. Not to mention, it challenged the Knights of the Round and completely cleaned out Cornelia. Of course, here, she was playing the role of a orphan teenage boy. It took some restrain to force out thankful words. If she wasn’t a princess and truly some normal student, this would a chance of a lifetime. Serving almost directly under the emperor or empress was amazing to anyone. 

With a light smile on her lips, Luluko answered with the same demeanor she always held. “Thank you. Though, I think in a Knightmare isn’t where I belong. My sister doesn’t do well with violence. A desk job probably suits me better.” Gino slung an arm around her shoulder and said something happily that Luluko didn’t bother caring about. Half of the things that person said she ignored without hesitation. Turning to watch the rest of the exit from their Knightmares, she glanced at their rank as well. Her eighty-nine went about unmatch, there were a couple close people that also ranged in the eighties, but Luluko’s position did not change. It was quite obvious that she held experience of some kind. Luluko didn’t particularly care about drawing attention to herself like this. If she excelled in any subject, there would be question on how a ‘commoner’ bested noble children.

After they changed from the piloting uniforms, the rest of the class involved the annoying female teacher rambling about the different parts of the war machine and how to use it. Each of the periods were an hour long, and the simulation took about thirty minutes. Luluko basically spent half an hour listening to things she was already well educated on. It took all her effort to stay awake and raised her hand occasionally to answer the questions Ms. Villetta threw at them. Eventually, her eyes returned to the television that held each of their scores. The highest being Gino’s and the lowest being some kid named Rolo’s. There weren’t that many people she found useful, everyone’s scores was almost poorly low. Most of them hit in the seventies, while three others found places in the eighties. Eh. They could be useful if they dragged their percentage to the nineties. “Mr. Lamperouge. Will you please answer my question and stop daydreaming about your score?” She snapped. 

Luluko’s allowed her eyes to travel lazily towards the direction of her voice. “Japan was the first country conquered using Knightmares. 2001 a.t.b.”  This was the fourth question she answered. Apparently that horrid teacher took upon herself to find a fault in her. Oh well. Sucks to be her, because the Crown Princesses was the definition of perfection (Minus anything that had to do with physical work). Her eyes returned to staring at the board, memorizing the names and faces that she could use in battle. The class continued without anything major happening, there were just more questions that Luluko knew that answer to. When the bell rang, she was the first one up and out the door. Finally. Finally. At first, she thought that class would have more to do with actual practice then lectures. 

“Lelouch! I never knew you could pilot a Knightmare so well. Congrats on scoring third! Anyways, what do you have next? Gino has Britannian War History, while I have medical classes right now…” Suzaku ran up to once they were in the halls and immediately started conversation. Ugh. Why did these people like to talk so much? There was nothing to talk about. Yet somehow, someway, they created a freaking topic. How were their mouths not tired from all this? Instead of relieving her true thoughts, Luluko simply offered him a small smile. She was heading to that medical as well actually… Dammit. Another period with one of those two. At least… There was no way she was going to score under him in this. Never in a million years would she want to lose anything else to Suzaku Kururugi and Gino Weinberg. Sadly, it was going to happen whether she liked it or not. 

AN: HERE’S ANOTHER ONE FOR YOU GUYS ^_^ Review,favorite, follow, tell your friends, tell your dog, tell your apple, and all that fun jazz. Thanks for reading. 

Kudos to you guys who noticed the new character. Rolo shall appear later! 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I just wanted to give you a heads up. This chapter is written from Suzaku's point of view.
> 
> A couple quick things. Suzaku believes Lelouch is Luluko, so he'll think of her as Lelouch. As for the height mentioning in this chapter, dear Suzaku is 176 cm and Luluko is 170. And let me add on from that, there will be differences between Luluko's personality one because of her past, and two because she is a different gender. Not being rude or anything, but boys and girls tend to have a couple differences. Nothing very major though.
> 
> OH. And Luluko has contacts on that make her eyes blue. There are a couple of you who think it's impossible to cross dress, I don't think it's that hard. If a girl cut off her hair and took other procedures, I think she could pass for a general boy.

Suzaku watched as Lelouch was once again reading a textbook, while his computer lay to the right of him. His cool purple eyes flickered up to the computer just to type a few keys before returning to studying his book. He was lounged on his own bed frowning at a couple math problems like they were alive. As a Knight, he wasn't required to take high level math, but it was important that he have some sort of education. So here he was, seconds away from smashing his head against the wall because he didn't understand why the hell he needed to learn these things when there was a creation called "a computer" dammit. Nevermind just that. Why did he have to know this things when others specialized in this? It's not like he was ever going to be a leader of some kind. Maybe it was useful for Gino, but he was a number. Never in a million years would he ever reach a position others would respect. Even if he did, the world was just going to push upon him even harder. His goal to become the Crown Princess's Knight was good as dead. How was it even possible when she had billions of people to choose from? But he was getting off track here. Homework was waiting for him. Suzaku spent another ten minutes staring at the problems trying to guess where to begin. He was about to quit when Lelouch stood at his bedside smirking slightly. "Do you need help?"

"Yeah… I don't really understand any of this, since I fell asleep in class." Suzaku gave him a sheepish smile as Lelouch rolled his eyes. Thank god. Oh and math class was right after combat which was also second to last period. COME ON. Suzaku had been exhausted and the teacher was rambling. It was a miracle that she didn't notice his light snoring in the first place and that he woke up just when she was handing out homework. He moved over from his position on the bed to make some room for him. But somewhere, somehow, the soldier felt his cheeks heat up a bit when their hands touched lightly. Sparing a glance at Lelouch, he watched as the lean boy sat down at the edge of the bed. His soft hair fell just in front of his gleaming violet eyes perfectly. A furious blush crept over him as Lelouch picked up the papers with an amused smile.

"Hm. Give me your pencil." Before Suzaku could hand it to him, he felt it being swiftly snatched from his hand, but not before a second of contact. His skin was so smooth. So smooth and pale. Honestly, if he didn't know better and this wasn't an all boys school, Suzaku was easily assume that Lelouch was a girl. But girls wore dresses and other pretty things. Lelouch didn't. In fact, Gino had once asked if he had ever worn a dress before and Lelouch blew up on him. Literally, exploded. Back to the present. At the current time, Lelouch was dressed in a black t-shirt and white shorts. School had ended three hours ago, and most students do end up changing into something else. After all, it was burning hot outside. He was wearing a white t-shirt with his favorite foot team's logo on the front, plus dark blue jean shorts that went to his knees.

"It's just sort of hot in here. Let me turn on the air conditioning." Pushing himself up from the bed, Suzaku released a sigh. It was sometimes nice to see Lelouch being semi-nice instead of raising his walls against everyone. Suzaku just assumed that he had a hard past after telling him that story. Flipping the air conditioning on, he slowly headed back to the bed. He criss-crossed his legs after dropping down on the soft sheets. It was the first time that Suzaku had a place like this. Even after his deal with Lloyd and Cecile, he stayed in the military barracks which were much less comfortable than this. "Thanks by the way, Lelouch." His green eyes matched the raven haired boy's purple ones as he lifted them from the paper. It was only for a split second before Lelouch simply nodded and looked back at the paper. Suzaku gave him a bright smile that he completely missed, but it was there.

His instructions came swiftly and quickly. It seemed like the pencil danced on the paper with his handy work. Lelouch finished the problem in a matter of seconds and then asked him to do it. To his embarrassment, instead of watching the numbers be written, he had been observing Lelouch's delicate hand. After attempting and failing miserably, Lelouch groaned and walked him through it again, but this time much much slower. "Oh! I get it! Thanks a lot Lulu!" Lulu must be a major turn off for Lelouch because his eyes automatically hardened and he scowled slightly. Realizing this, Suzaku raised his hands defensively, "Whoa! I'm sorry Lelouch. I didn't mean it like that. But really thanks for the help. I owe you a favor?" Just like he regretted that calling him Lulu, he regretted that as well. Lelouch's face quickly switched into a smirk.

"Then how about you come with me to do some errands?" He regretted it. So bad. "It's nothing bad. Honor student? I don't really have tons of spare cash, so the principle let's me make my own food in the kitchen. I ran out of supplies." Oh. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. This meant that he would only have to carry around things right? Lelouch wasn't really a girl, so he wouldn't take hours right? Maybe he would still have time to watch a movie when he got back… Who was he kidding? No way. But Lelouch helped him with his homework and he had promised. Suzaku always tried his hardest to keep promises. Releasing a long sigh, he nodded slowly in agreement. He watched as Lelouch smiled lightly and walked to the door to slip on his sneakers before grabbing a small case. "Stop moping soldier. I'll treat you to dinner after."

He was just about to open his mouth and state how Lelouch just mentioned that he didn't have tons of money, whenthe darker haired boy was already out the door. Standing up from his place on the bed, he dashed over to the door to put on his shoes. "Lead the way." With that, the pair were off. They walked for about twenty minutes with little snippets of conversation. It didn't become more detailed than talks about the weather, and a couple times they chatted about politics. It was only when they were minutes away from the reaching their destination that Suzaku opened his mouth for a serious topic. "Don't you have anything against numbers? Other Britannia nobles would have sued the school for allowing me a place in… Yet you couldn't seem to care less. Why?"

Lelouch eyed him strangely and frowned. "Do you have two eyes? Do you have four limbs? Can you speak English? Are you a human being? I don't see what's different from you and the rest of that noble trash. For all I care, seeing someone who can speak two languages and pilot the seventh generation Knightmare is enough for you to earn my respect." He stopped and turned to lock eyes with him, "I believe that if you are given a position of nobility that you should use it to help others, and if you aren't blessed like that, work hard. Earn others respect no matter what race. Always try your best, always give your one hundred percent into anything you do. Maybe when I become a noble myself, I'll hire you Kururugi." Lelouch gave him the signature smirk that Suzaku swore that he had seen before. Somewhere… Was it on television? But still. Hearing those words from the short male meant the world to him. So there were people in the world that didn't see him as a 'filthy eleven monkey'. It was also in that moment that Suzaku wanted to form a never ending friendship with Lelouch.

"I… Thanks. Not a lot of people would say that. I don't even know why Gino had no problem for it. When I met you, I was super nervous.. But really Lelouch thanks. Those words mean a lot to me." Suzaku smiled as Lelouch continued to walk forwards towards a very high class apartment buildings. "W-wait. What are we doing here?" Lelouch's talking about his opinion on numbers completely distracted him from where they were walking. Was he planning that? No. He highly doubted it, Lelouch seemed to mean every word he said. But still! They were in front of some nobles or some rich guy's house and he was not alright with this. Lelouch said they were going to buy food, why the hell were they here? That… "This is not a place to go shopping Lelouch!"

"Hmmm…" The guy hummed, clearly amused, "I predicted that reaction from you. As you know, I have to earn my own money." There was one thought that popped into Suzaku's head. A highly inappropriate thought. Scanning his new friend from top to bottom he concluded that Lelouch was quite good looking for a male. He was lean, tall, but not too tall, and beautiful blue eyes… So he could see the appeal if the person was gay, but still! It was illegal to do that! Much less a… What? Seventeen year old? Was he eighteen? That was wayyy too young! He must have made a strange expression, because Lelouch gave him a look of confusion before choosing to ignore it. "I like playing chess. It's enjoyable… And gambling against over privileged, arrogant, nobles is a perfect way of keeping myself alive. Generally each trip gets me about two grand? It's enough to live off of for a week." Oh. Oh. Damn his teenage perverted mind. Lelouch wasn't like that. Not in a million years. A furious blush exploded onto his face. "Suzaku. Is something wrong?" Lelouch's voice snapped him back to the real world

"A-ah nothing! I just thought you… Nevermind…" The blush darkened as Lelouch shrugged it off and continued towards the tall, intimidating building. Suzaku watched the younger boy head straight for the door, talk to the person, and enter swiftly. Freaking Lelouch. He wasn't scared at all? UGH. People these days were so damn arrogant. Realizing that he was falling behind, he dashed to catch up. Passing through the door, he ran into the elevator in the last second. "Lelouch… There are other jobs better than gambling that you could do. I saw your skill with Knightmares and long ranged shooting. Why don't you join the military? I'm sure they'll accept someone as talented as you. Though…" He paused. There was only one thing. Lelouch was extremely out of shape. He remembered seeing the younger boy run across the campus, only to stop and catch his breath a couple seconds later. Literally a ten second run.

Automatically, Lelouch's eyes hardened fiercely."If you're insulting my athletic skill, Mr. I-fell-asleep-in-class-so-I was-going-to-fail-math, I don't think you of all people should be judging. I excel at different things than you. Instead of fighting directly, I prefer to be the one pulling the strings. I'll say this once. Do not look down on me because I am not as physically strong as you," Lelouch replied, clearly annoyed. Okay. Maybe he was pushing his boundaries. It was rude for him to say and not consider the other's thoughts. Of course, attacking his weakness is definitely going to cause him to be more sensitive.

"I didn't mean it like that." Yes, he did. "I'm sorry about that Lelouch." Suzaku was about to continue on correcting what he meant when the elevator pinged lightly, signaling their floor. The number twelve flashed in red as the metal doors slid open. The first thing that came to his mind was rich. Like any other high class apartment building, everything was decorated beautifully. Instead of having extremely lavish style halls, these took on the modern aspect. Across from them were glass panes that gave you a view of the entire city. Silver colored lamps hung from the roof, while the floor had been created with smooth, pure, marble. He watched as Lelouch smirked slightly before stepping out and turning right. The echoing sound of their shoes was the only thing to be heard. They walked past three doors. Upon the fourth, Lelouch pushed it open and stepped into the room without knocking. Once again, he noted just how rude and arrogant the blue eyed boy was.

"Shall we start right away? I have a place to be soon." Lelouch smiled slightly and dropped the case that he was holding into Suzaku's arms before walking forward and sitting at a chessboard with the noble. Two large, bulky body guards stood on either side of the opponent's chair. Each one was at least six feet, and weighed feet hundred pounds. If this got ugly… They would have major problems. Releasing a sigh, he refocused on the chess game at hand. Lelouch was playing black, he was surprised. It didn't seem like the other to put himself at a disadvantage of any kind. Though, he quickly saw why it truly had no effect on the game. Pieces danced on the the board before him, each one moved without hesitation. It was actually scary how absolutely amazing Lelouch was. Minutes ticked by quickly as black quickly overwhelmed white. Circling around the once proud white king, there was no escape. The game was decided the moment the first piece was moved. Twelve minutes, that's what it took for Lelouch to make his clean victory and earn himself three thousand grand. It was then that it happened.

One of the boy guards for the nobles raised a gun and pointed at Lelouch, whose eyes barely flickered with shock. Suzaku automatically froze with one thought running through his head, Lelouch! "Stupid school boys. I'm sorry to end you here, but if this loss were get out onto the news, I would be ruined you know. We'll just rearrange the pieces, and call me victor. Then out of anger, you attack me? Alright?" The noble said these words, but Suzaku tuned them out easily. Instead, he watching as Lelouch's cold blue eyes turned to observe him. Giving him the slightest nod, the other boy dropped down to the floor. That moment seemed to be in slow motion, as the man fired his gun. The shot missed badly and hit into the chair instead of Lelouch's eye. Suzaku pushed himself into the air as he quickly kicked the gun far away and pinned the nobleman on the ground.

One of the bodyguards grabbed him by the waist and tried to haul him off and being much bigger than himself, it was easy. In retaliation, Suzaku brought his elbow up and smashed it into the man's nose. A sickening crack and scream was heard and blood started to slowly pour out. Using this moment to gain his freedom, he twisted away and knocked the guy out by hitting him on the head. Though behind him, the other man ran towards him with his fist swinging. Suzaku easily moved out of the way and kick his feet out from under his large body. The guy stilled for a moment before he lunged back up at him. Suzaku was pushed onto his back and suddenly felt 300 pounds of weight on top of him. Only then did he have time to worry about where Lelouch was. Luckily for him, no harm had befallen his friend.

"Everyone freeze." The dangerous weapon was now under Lelouch's control. Holding it with one hand, he looked quite relaxed as he pointed the gun at the man was holding it moments before. "Attempting murder is illegal and is punishable by death, however mercy is one of qualities of a good leader. Do expect to lose your position as Duke by next week, but for now, I'll take the money and leave." Keeping it trained on the same person, Lelouch grabbed the award money on the otherside, checked it, took the amount that he brought as well, and signaled for Suzaku to follow him. Wasting not a second, he quickly flipped the man over and dashed after him. "Let's run." Lelouch mutter into his ear as he made a move towards the stairs. Of course, going down was much easier than going up. Though it was still a surprise that Lelouch managed to get all the way down the stairs without losing his breath and stopping.

It took him a couple minutes to process everything that happened, but after that, "LELOUCH! Are you insane? You could have gotten the both of us killed with your stupid gambling habit! What the hell were you thinking? It's not normal for a teenager to be gambling for money, and their lives! Weren't you afraid? Give me that gun!" Snatching the weapon from Lelouch, he took a couple long deep breaths. "Who the hell are you?!" It was impossible for Lelouch to be a regular scholarship student. "Normal people don't point guns, and normal teenagers don't gamble!" A couple people in the crowd turned to look at him, but quickly turned their heads away when a killer glare was given to them by Lelouch. He took another deep breath, and was about to speak again when Lelouch's hand covered his mouth.

"Look." The shorter man's eyes flickered to the a couple men in the crowd. "Stay out here and watch them, I'll be right back. Trust me." He didn't have a chance to reply or stop him because Lelouch slid away into the crowd the moment he finished whispering to him. Okay… This is officially one of the most confusing days ever. But he was a soldier. His job was to take orders. So he obeyed, Suzaku stood there and waited. In a matter of minutes, the two men that Lelouch said were following him had been arrested. Though it was strange, he could have swore that he had seen one the police officers before… His brain searched hard for an answer. The man was wearing a regular uniform, but had waverly blue hair. Lelouch returned moments later with two officers, a look of confusion crossed the boy's face when seeing that they were completely missing from the crowd before apologizing to the officers about his mistake. He watched as they walked away with a slight frown on their lips. "What happened? I thought I told to keep track of them."

"T-they were arrested. The strange part was that… I think I saw one of them before. On television… He had blue hair with amber eye..." Suzaku thought for a moment longer trying to remember more. "Oh. I know. That guy was with Princess Luluko vi Britannia. Jerry? Or was it.. Jeremiah…? What would such a high ranked soldier be here? Where those men extremely dangerous?" His eyes flickered over to Lelouch. A look of annoyance had crossed the boy's delicate face.

"I had to run to get those officers for no reason." Lelouch scoffed and started walking away again the case of money in hand.

That was too close. She didn't think that the noble would be so outright violent and in front of Suzaku especially. A miscalculation on her part. As for the the arrest, ten points to Suzaku for observation. That was the captain of her personal royal guard, Jeremiah Gottwald. She had called them urgently before getting the police as cover. Though sadly for the Japanese boy, he wasn't smart enough to put two and two together and discover that she was a girl. Oh well. Luluko walked off, knowing that Suzaku would follow her like the loyal person he was.

Soon enough, they arrived at a small Japanese shopping center. Luluko wanted Suzaku's loyalty, and what better way to gain the trust from him then to help his people? Opening the case, she swiftly took out a stack of bills. Luluko glanced around the grocery shops, trying to find eggs and other necessary food. Entering the first store she saw, Luluko grabbed a grocery basket and started drifting down the aisles. Even after a couple weeks, this still felt strange. She was so use to food being brought to her and served, instead of buying and cooking herself. Her eyes flickered back and forth between two types of bread before grabbing a random one. Luluko's way of randomly taking this and placing them in her basketed continued for the rest of the trip. "Say Suzaku… Would you like anything?" The guy had been walking around and putting up with her for hours now. He deserved something in return in addition to the dinner she promised him.

"No… The amount of money I earn from piloting is enough for me to live off of. Thank you for offering though." Forever being the polite one. She rolled her eyes and hummed in response. Oh well. It was up to her to decide what Suzaku could use. What in the world would a boy exercise freak want? Other than weights or other ridiculous training materials. Luluko finally decided on asking her siblings for advice later. After they would return, she would get the rest of the day off. Perfect time to get in touch with the others again. Yeah… She missed the back-stabbing Pendragon and of course, she was just so looking forward to talking to her amazing siblings again.

They walked around in the store for a couple more minutes looking for more items to purchase. Finding nothing else important, Luluko headed to the cash register to pay. She handed the women, probably the owner, an hundred dollar bill and smiled lightly. To her dismay, that only caused her to take a step back and revert eye contact. Did she do something wrong? It's not like she was going to attack her. Were she smiles really that frightening? The women started placing her things in plastic yellow bags, which Suzaku lifted, before handing the twenty dollars of change to her. "Keep it. Thank you for your service." Luluko mumbled and grabbed the last bag herself. Lost in thought about the recoiling of the owner, she let her pace fall behind by more than a couple steps. Suzaku was about five meters ahead by now.

"Lelouch! Keep up!" His voice snapped her out of her thoughts. The bag was heavy though. She was 100 percent sure that it was leaving red marks on her fair skin. Releasing a frustrated sigh, Luluko ignored the exhaustion pulling at her moved her feet forward a bit faster. Eventually, Suzaku had to slow his pace to match her's. There as an uncomfortable silence as the pair continued to walk.

Hopefully there is some humor in this and you do get a kick out of reading my and Sara-Saturday's story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :3
> 
> I have a schedule and plan for these chapters. By the way, this took place a couple weeks later than the first day. Some time skips will be happening and these are filler chapters with a purpose. Next chapter will be Luluko texting her siblings in a group chat and the one after that will deal with Gino's relationship to her.


	5. Chapter 5

There was a question had been bothering him for a bit now. Just what were his sexual preferences? Gino was fairly sure that he was straight. No. In fact, he was very sure. There was no way that he could be gay… He was a normal teenage boy, right? There were girls that he found very very attractive (pornography was always appreciated) and Gino never found a boy that made their way to his heart. Except for Lelouch. He had never felt truly in love, before the purple eyed boy.

It was a hopeless crush, and even an optimistic person like Gino couldn't deny that. They were too different and he would probably never end up working up the courage to romance him. Even if he was able to get himself to ask Lelouch out, he was sure that the cold, lilac-eyed boy would shut down his feeling immediately. Then after the shutdown, he would give him a speech on their positions in Britannia and that he needed to focus on his grades or something like that. And If Lelouch rejected him then what would happen to their relationship? Would they no longer be friends? Would Lelouch shun him? That would be even worse… A loud sigh escaped Gino's lips as he set his head down upon the soft cover of the pillowesque novel, his golden hair flowing over the edge of the book.

After a couple minutes of thinking, his head was cleared. He was overthinking it. Yeah. The confession came after the 'trying to get him to fall in love with you' part anyways. It didn't matter what Lelouch would say to him right now… Success can't come before effort! If his effort failed, then he could worry about the rejection. Now was the time to form a plan to sweep dear Lulu off his feet. Not that was an easy task either…

Acting like a flirt might help, but Suzaku would grow suspicious quickly. Whatever. Maybe Lelouch would fall for him that way. Who knows what he would like in a man? Or in a woman? Would flowers make him happy? A fancy dinner? Maybe he should start with something small, like a box of homemade chocolates secretly given to him under the shadow of the large oak tree. It wouldn't be very hard to throw in a couple hind clues as well. If his cheeks blushed a rosy red or had a bashful reaction then Gino could move from there. Well that was plan one.

He could always be very direct about it, like giving him straight up compliments or flirting. Lelouch could be weirded out by that and Suzaku would certainly think strangely of him. But at the same time, Lelouch could respond positively to him. But he didn't really seem like a person to enjoy being flirted with. His cold personality seemed to give the impression that he didn't have time for romance.

What could he do? Just let the cards play out? Maybe he should just wait to become closer to Lelouch. Then maybe he would have a better chance. But then, what if Lelouch fell for someone else? Or if nothing happened and their relationship never changed? Then he would never get anywhere… At the same time, if he did reveal his true emotions, Lelouch might hate him. He must have been frustrated because his hand came slamming down onto the book that he was 'reading'. A loud smack echoed in the room. Currently, Gino was alone in their dorm room. Suzaku was out piloting the Lancelot and Lelouch was out doing something unknown, probably playing chess for money again. Even though it was snowing, Lelouch just couldn't cancel.

He glanced out the dorm room window, peering at the frost covered panes. Beautiful snowflakes drifted past the window, each one small and crystalline, like small crystals of infinite beauty. He looked down at the snow covered flowers and was reminded of Lelouch's own eyes, except even more beautiful. Gino smiled happily before looking away from the reminiscent flowers.

He was still in deep thought about Lelouch, when the sound of the slamming door interrupted his pensive trance. The startling sound almost caused him to fall off the bed. "Welcome back-" A train of colorful swearing poured out of the returned man's mouth before Gino could finish his greeting. Something must have gone wrong with his gambling... Sensing his obvious bad mood, Gino decided to simply watch. Lelouch tore off his jacket and immediately headed into the bathroom. The clicking sound of the lock sounded throughout the room, followed by the sound of running water from the shower.

"Hey Lelouch." Gino called as he stepped onto the ground, and made his way to the bathroom door. "Can I come in?" He asked, though the answer was already obvious. Lelouch never let anyone into the bathroom when he was inside. It was strange, considering that they were all boys. Besides, the shower curtain wasn't see through. There was nothing really wrong with him entering, but Lelouch just never allowed it.

As predicted, "No! I need ten minutes to finish." was the response. Gino sighed and leaned against the door. He couldn't even wash his hands or grab his cup from the bathroom. Geez. Lelouch and his privacy habits were absolutely annoying. He never changed in front of them or slept in his boxers. To be completely honest, he had never met someone like Lelouch before… Though, maybe that was why he was in love.

"Why? I won't see you naked. I just need to grab my mug!" He fibbed. The moment Lelouch made the mistake of letting him into that bathroom, you bet that Gino was throwing open the shower curtain and maybe take a peek at Lelouch's clothes. Just what the hell was he hiding in that body of his? Why was he so private about it? It couldn't be that bad. Maybe his arm was fake. Or he had a bad rash everywhere… What if Lelouch was really a girl?!

Gino was positive that Lelouch could easily pass for a female if he grew his hair longer. Everything about him seemed to point to being female, except for his voice and lack of breasts. Damn. Lelouch would look really hot with breasts… Sadly for the world, he wasn't female. Even if he was, this was an all boys school. Lelouch would have to be out of his mind to come here when Lily Pond, the sister school, was just as good. He continued to ponder about Lelouch's personal life.

He really knew nothing about his friend. (One way friendship here) Gino was sure that the boy behind the door had a sister who he loved greatly. It was extremely close to the point where he would call it a 'sister complex'. What else did he know? Well, he saw Lelouch putting on contacts once. There was a slight blueness to them, but other than that, he wasn't able to catch a glimpse of Lelouch's eyes. Why would he wear contacts of a different color? Maybe it was to make himself more attractive. Girls did tend to go for guys with blue eyes. Another thing about his secretive friend was that he was the probably one of the only geniuses he ever met in his life. Lelouch was smart to the point where, Gino was confused why he still went to college. Every class was to easy and slow. Plus, he could pilot a knightmare expertly which was an interesting skill for a commoner.

Lelouch snapped him away from his thoughts once more by pondering on the other side of the door. "If you lean against the door, I can't get out. You're too heavy." Oh. Heh. Gino quickly pushed himself off the wall to stand and smiled sheepishly. Lelouch had a point. With his weak muscles, he would be trapped there forever with no escape if he didn't move.

His roommate stepped through the door slowly, a pale hand held the white towel to his head. Lelouch wore black knee length shorts with a casual violet t-shirt. Water dripped from his hair onto the rugged ground and onto his shirt. Ah… So beautiful. "Hello Gino. Are you free sometime? I'd like to pay back the favor I owe you."

Hm. That favor. Gym class two weeks ago involved Gino lying for Lelouch since the lazy kid refused to come. Not that it was anything huge, but Lelouch was the type of person that hated to owe anyone anything. Maybe it was his arrogance that created that affect. He wanted Lelouch to understand that friends could do these things for each other, but Gino was not about to pass up spending time with Lelouch. No way. So, he smiled. "Sounds fun. It's almost five now, should we leave soon?"

"Yes. I need a second to change into pants, it's freezing outside." With that, Lelouch left for the bathroom with a pair of black pants. Gino took his opportunity to fix his hair and pop a piece of gum into his mouth. Bad breath was a turn off for anyone. He slipped into sneakers and waited for Lelouch. Within five minutes, they were out the door. Just another thing he enjoyed about men. They didn't four hours just get ready for a small trip.

They made small talk on the way to the dinner. Nothing important, but Gino often found himself gazing at Lelouch. Everytime he breathed a soft puff of warm air would be released. When a cold breeze blew by, the shorter boy would duck his head into his scarf and shiver before uttering complaints. Or when there was a patch of hidden ice and Lelouch would slip a bit before steadying himself. Anything he did was adorable. A patch of rosy red formed on his cheeks from the winter cold. His lips became a noticeable pink as Lelouch ran his tongue over them quickly.

"We're here." That snapped him from his trance and Gino took in the restaurant. Nothing fancy. Also not Britannian. An Eleven restaurant? Lelouch seemed like that the kind of person who would consider himself above places like this… But he never looked down on Suzaku (Only when he couldn't do algebra). "Suzaku showed this place to me. Their food was extremely well made."

"It looks great." Lelouch opened the door for the both of them and a gust of warm air hit his face. A nervous waitress led them to an open table near the window. Both of them muttered their thanks and slipped into the seats. A moment of awkward silence passed between them before he spoke. "Alright. Do you recommend anything Lelouch?" He reached a menu as Lelouch had already begun to order. Purple eyes flickered to meet his.

"Hmm… I haven't tried everything, but I know the soups are delicious. Order whatever you want though. Miso soup with salmon rolls and your house special." Lelouch gave a small smile to the waitress, as if silently assuring her that they had no intentions to harm her. Were there no imperfections with him? Their server relaxed greatly before returning the smile. So he was eating dinner with a beautiful boy, a genius mind, and who had amazing people skills.

"I'll have the same, but with an extra salad on the side. Thank you." He watched as she jotted down the orders, bowed, before leaving them to prepare the food. "So Lelouch. Did you have any lovers before this? Perhaps in your high school?" The question caught him off guard, as shock flickered through his expression.

Quiet laughter sounded from his mouth as the shock was replaced was with amusement. "No. Never. I have no intention of dating currently. Romance will disturb my studies." Well. That hurt a bit more than it should have. Does that mean Lelouch wouldn't even give him a chance to prove himself? Or even hear his love confession? The emotion must have shown through to his face. "Are you alright? Did I offend you?"

Forcing a smile and a laugh, he answered. "Nah. It's not you. I just remember something that I forgot to do. I'm just shocked at your answer. I thought girls and guys would be throwing themselves at you." That got him another laugh from Lelouch. The sound was missing some of it's purity, but still beautiful. Maybe something like chimes…? With a touch of insanity and darkness. Yup. That was it.

"Girls and guys? Surprisingly, I've only received a couple love confessions from the male population this year." Well. Aren't we arrogant? Gino's lips twisted into a smirk.

"Whoa. You only got a few? Yesterday I opened my locker and love letters poured out. I would say there's maybe fifty? Probably more. But you know, nothing impressive. I think I'll hit at least two hundred by the end of the semester." He flashed an innocent smile to Lelouch, which was returned with a rude snort from the other boy. Of course, it was a lie. He had received two so far, which he politely declined.

"I'll believe you when I see them all, Weinberg." Before Gino could say something back, their food arrived in all it's glory. It smelled perfect. Food should not be anything else but what he had on his plate. Lelouch smirked at his happy expression, "I told you that it was good. Let's eat." And with no hesitation that's what he did. Their conversation reach it's low point as Gino gulfed down food. Sometimes Lelouch would watch his rapid eating with amusement, refraining from making a comment and returning to his own food.

The meal continued quite well… Until two Britannian stepped through the door. Lazy purple eyes flickered over to the entering people. "Disgusting and vile pigs." He heard Lelouch mutter under his breath with obvious fury. Unable to resist the urge, Gino turned around to observe them as well.

"Eleven! Hurry up! We don't have all day." Lelouch had returned to his food and Gino slowly decided to do the same. Better to be avoid being caught staring and confrontation. "Why are so slow? Hurry up! We're hungry." Both of them listened with open ears to the conversation; obvious fury pouring from the boy sitting across from him.

It was quiet for the next five minutes, with the occasional obnoxious laugh of one of the men there. Gino watched as their food arrived and one of the men's expression withered with disgust. "Yo Eleven girl! You call this food?! I payed to eat food. Not this crap. Take it back!" A loud scraping against the floor brought the attention of everyone in the restaurant to them as Lelouch stood from his chair.

The pair of men ignored it and continued with their rudeness. "I said take it back! Learn your place!" Gino almost turned away from the sight. One of the men decided that this was the right time to throw food at her. The bowl filled with boiling soup smashed into her shoulder and quickly drenched her skin in it's liquid. Patches of red from the burning soup already appeared on her skin as stumbled back a step. The bowl fell to the ground and shattered into glass shards. The girl's eyes trailed on the floor as she held back tears. "Clean it up, you clumsy Eleven."

"Why don't you? From what I see, you caused this mess." Lelouch muttered dangerously as he took a step towards them. "Filthy Eleven? People like you disgust me. Arrogant Britannians throwing their weight around and polluting the world." The words that left his mouth were cold and deadly. Nothing above the volume of a regular conversation. Lelouch continued to position himself right between the waitress and the two men.

"A school boy? Get out of the way and I might forgive your back talk. If not, I'll use force to make you leave and I'm sure your mommy would like to hear that you defended a number from the police." He reached forward to grabbed Lelouch's wrist roughly. "A weak little child like you should stay out of the adult world."

The man never got the chance to carry through with his threat. Gino was out of seat and moving the moment the man made reached towards Lelouch. "Sir. I'm going to politely ask you to stop before I'll be forced to arrest you." He rarely tossed his title around or used it for anything, but this was an exception. It would be impossible to have an all out fight without hurting the bystanders. "Gino Weinberg, Knight of Three." Gino muttered lightly when the man sneered at him.

That seemed to do the trick as recognition flashed through his expression. The attacker's hand dropped to his side and stepped away from Lelouch. Both of them stopped and picked up the pieces of glass like Lelouch ordered them to. Another moment passed before they muttered some sort of an unknown apology and left the restaurant, shielding themselves from anymore embarrassment.

"You know Gino, I had other things I wanted to say to them before you made your entrance." Lelouch said with a small smile. "But enough of that. We have an injured, innocent person. I'm do what I can for her injuries, while I trust you to dial for the hospital to come. Use your title."

He almost said, 'Yes, my lord.' Almost. He almost said it. Lelouch held himself like nothing less than royalty in public. Which was interesting, because he was a bit more relaxed when no one was watching. He would make a great noble in the future or maybe a large corporation owner. Though Gino nodded to him and did what he was asked by calling the hospital."Do you need my help tending to her wounds?"

Lelouch gave him a very amused look. "No. I would rather you clear this place of people. And tell them not to mention this ever happening." The boy then returned to tending to the girl's burns. Yeah. Lelouch would make a great noble, since he enjoyed ordering people around all the damn time. Gino once again did was he was asked. "Thank you. I did was I could. She'll heal. A scar or two will be left, but nothing more."

They sat in silence for another second or two before Gino asked a question that had been bothering him since Lelouch stood up for this girl. "Why? Why did you do it?" Lelouch only could lose. He wouldn't get anything from helping an Eleven. So why did he do it? He wasn't a kind hearted soul who went around giving money to the poor, Gino got that from the first day they talked. Lelouch wasn't a bad person, but there was no way that he could qualify as a hero of any kind.

"I have no idea. It just makes my blood boil at the thought of this. I experienced it a bit back in my childhood, so it's possible that might be source." Instantly millions of questions filled his mind. How would Lelouch understand this if he was Britannian…? Surely he didn't live that bad of a childhood. Not even in a normal family? His eyes watched him as his long slender fingers continued to assist the girl.

Eventually the ambulance arrived to take her away. Lelouch offered the manger to pay for the damage and they were in tears from his kindness by the end of the night. So when they returned home together Gino was confused. Lelouch must have really strange senses of righteousness. He was often rude to their professors or peers, but he had extended his hand this far for strangers. Maybe because they were oppressed? And that they deserved kindness, while the others didn't? Lelouch was impossible to read. His intentions were nothing but his own. Whatever. He'd figure it out one day

Luluko walked besides Gino slowly. Darkness had settled over the sky and left them in darkness. To return to Ashford, they followed the street lights. It took them about twenty minutes to finally reach their dorm room. Gino stuck in the key and opened the door for them. It relieved a very worried, pacing Suzaku on the other side. "Gino! Lelouch! Thank god… It's almost ten and you guys weren't back… We agree together to not go anywhere after and return before ten! What happened?"

"Nothing important. Go to bed Suzaku and get ready for midterms next week. We just took a long time to eat." Luluko said without missing a beat. She felt Gino's eyes land on her for a second before flickering away. Strange, he had been watching her for almost the entire night. It wasn't disturbing or creepy as it was weird. Something must be wrong, but right now she didn't have the energy to figure that out. This night had drained her. Not a good thing considering that with Monday began midterms.

She slipped off her coat and hung it in their closet. Gino felt for the bathroom and Suzaku began changing to pajamas. It was annoying to walk into a room and see boys in boxers. Sure, sometimes she did a guilty moment to look at their chests, but no nose bleeds or oogling. They had never stripped fully naked, so Luluko never bother to yell at them for it (Thankfully, she probably would be scarred for life).

The school year has been passing along quick finely. She thought that it would be much harder to deal with these two idiots, but surprisingly it's been fairly good between. They were kind to her and school treated her well. Since they were almost halfway, Luluko decided that it would only be right for her to finally send Schneizel a letter on how everything was going. She had promised to message him, but never specified when. Yeah. She'll do that tomorrow or after midterms.

On the topic of random things that just appeared into her mind, Luluko has discovered that it's hard as hell to be a citizen in Britannia with no money. Without her everyday gambling, there would be no way for her to survive. Thank Britannia for gambling. Random thoughts and memories about her life at this academy continue to flow through her mind, most likely because it was halfway through the school year.

She entered the bathroom after Gino with her pajamas. Once inside, she locked the door and began to change. The boys had always teased her for this, but like hell she was changing in front of them. A girl needs her privacy. Finally, she brushed her teeth and stepped out of the room to drop onto her bed. The day had been exhausting.

Luluko woke up to the sound of a furiously beeping alarm clock. Seven in the morning. School started in thirty minutes. She sighed softly and returned to the bathroom to change once more. Muttering something about it being too early, Luluko slipped into her uniform. Ugh. One look in the mirror and she knew that her hair was a mess. Time to spend a good five minutes styling her hair to be in the correct position.

At seven fifteen, she was sitting on the floor and munching on an apple. There wasn't anything great that she could image eating for breakfast, so she always just rested on some sort of fruit.

At seven twenty, she prepared her books and looked over her notes one more time. Ohhhh today was the the day. Hopefully she would be able to ace these tests.

At seven twenty five, Gino, Suzaku, and Luluko began making small talk. This was their everyday routine. Besides, she slowly began to enjoy being with these idiots.

At seven twenty eight, everyone was out the door heading to their classes. The nervous buzz of energy echoed throughout the room as Luluko quickly took her place in math class.

At seven thirty, there was the pledge.

And right after that, testing begun. Luluko's pencil flew across the paper and she solved everything effortlessly. Math was fairly easy. Just numbers. Next test was history, another subject that she excelled at. Easy. Third was Language Arts, not as brilliant as math, but still good. Fourth, biology. Simple. Nothing hard. Fifth, Chemistry. Eh. Alright. Seventh, health/healing. Ended very well. Finally, Knightmare training. Not bad, but she was sure that Gino and Suzaku beat her by a landslide.

Well. Day one done.

The rest of the continued like this, but with the addition of gym, physics, statistics, strategy class, and politics having a midterm. By the end of the week, all Luluko wanted to do was sleep and see the results. Hopefully she snagged the top position. That would stick in those doubtful nobles face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone help me i need a beta reader xD 
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter is bad... I need to go back and edit all of them ;-; But I just wanted to post it for you guys


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters because yeah... That happened xD Please leave a comment if you liked it!

Monday morning was absolutely horrible for her. Being the person she was, Luluko never slept at an appropriate time. Instead, stayed up late reading and studying for exams not yet to come for weeks. It was mornings like this she needed the most rest, sadly she had two teenage males as roommates. The sound of snoring idiots filled her ears, snatching her dreams about world domination from her. 

Mumbling something about how much he detested the pair of knights with colorful insults, Luluko pushed herself up to look at her alarm clock. The red numbers flashed annoyingly at her. 5:30. Huh. Not bad actually. A good four whole hours of sleep. She swung her legs off the bed and headed towards the bathroom to being her morning routine. 

It was half way through her shower that Luluko brain actually started turning gears. A ten minute grace period was necessary before she could actually think and remember the importance of today. Midterm ranking were to be posted today. The first chance to show up the entire school… That quiet, unathletic Lelouch was actually good for something. She wasn’t extremely nervous about besting the others in the school, but more so beating Schneizel in her effort to prove her worth to the throne. 

Scrubbing shampoo into her hair, she ran over the possible situations in her brain. Worse case scenario she would place second. Or even worse third… There was always finals if that happened. She would just have to live down Schneizel’s teasing for another half a year. Anyways, the top spot was almost guaranteed to her; being a genius and all. So this worrying really wasn’t necessary. With that mindset, Luluko finished her shower and stepped out into the cool misty bathroom. 

Steam filled the room, covering the mirror with a light dewy layer. Water from the mist dripped from the golden faucet and handles. If someone reached to touch the roof, it would slightly damp to the touch. The bathroom was covered in colors of gold and white; colors of the Britannian nobility. There was mirror above the skin, a toilet to the left of it and across from that a large bathtub where she had taken her shower. Many hotel rooms were unable to match to the conditions at Ashford. 

She stepped out onto the rug and snatched a towel from the hanger. Drying herself off quickly, Luluko started to changed into her uniform. Breasts were never a problem for her… One because she had a bra size of B and two, she had a binder anyways. She wasn’t curve-y enough to be recognized and her voice wasn’t high pitched enough to be caught. Sighing slowly, she reached forward to pull on her binder when... 

A bang on the door interrupted her thoughts. “Lelouch! Hurry up! We’re gonna be late!” Another pound. “Midterms score today! Stop doing your hair and get out here.” Gino’s voice sounded into the bathroom. Throwing on her uniform, Luluko shot a glare to the door. 

“Be quiet, or I’ll purposely take ten more minutes.” She snapped back and felt satisfied with a sigh from Gino. Well she had gotten her silence. Besides, she didn’t take that long. Twenty minutes tops. These idiots were suppose to be knights, didn’t have to stand silently for hours? Where did this childish attitude come from? 

Swinging open the door (almost hitting Gino in the face), Luluko grabbed her book bag and nodded to Suzaku who was rushing to change. Ten minutes before the scores were posted, twenty before school started. The countdown begins. “Geez Lelouch! Couldn’t you be faster?” Gino dashed into the bathroom. 

This was a typical morning for them; yelling at each other to hurry up, rushing into the bathroom, and finally the trio walked together to their destinations. So of course, the three of them left the dorms and headed to school together. 

The morning air was fresh, almost smelling sweet. Though, Luluko couldn’t say she enjoyed this cold temperature. On top of her uniform, she wore a black jacket in an attempt to keep warm. The trio continued in small talk before joining the small crowd all waiting for the scores to be posted. 

One minute left. Her heart slowly pounded in her chest, the anticipation was horrible. Everyone silently counted down the seconds before a professor slowly walked out with a fairly large poster in his hand; listing the top twenty scorers on the test. “Students. Please take a step back and I ask you to not touch this paper.” Everyone silently complied. As if he did this on purpose for dramatic effect, the professor taped the bottom before the top. 

It was as if years passed by before finally, the top was reviled. Though the crowd let a collective groan because of disappointment, Luluko took a stumbling step back with happiness. Her facade cracked for a second... and a light smile crept its way onto her face. Take that Schneizel! She had gotten a perfect score, beating him out by ten points. Yes! Grabbing her phone, she snapped a quick picture.

Finally, something she could shove in the faces of those damn traitorous nobles… The list would go public sometime and the world would see that she indeed managed to surpass her so called perfect brother. Oh! She was going to have to write to Nunnally and Euphemia about this. They could all celebrate together once winter break came along. 

When winter break came, she was going to send very very arrogant letters to those filthy nobles who petitioned her right to the throne. And she was going to throw a couple balls celebrating this victory (as much as she hated them, the public licked them up like thirsty dogs) And she was going to present this to her father. And she was going to shove this into Schneizel’s face. Ohhhhh Winter break is gonna be great! 

Lelouch Lamperouge 1000/1000  
Tora Strasburg 950/1000  
Gino Weinberg 920/1000  
Suzaku Kururugi 915/1000  
Raven Blackwood 900/1000

Voices she couldn’t place with her excitement started to congratulate her. Her thoughts were still lost in how she could celebrate/brag about this achievement. She was absolutely numb with excitement. She had done it. This was reality! Everything she ever dreamed for was coming true! She had beaten Schneizel and secured her path to the throne. 

Who would mock her now? The future empress did beat out the white prince. Who would dare insult her for being female now? Her path for victory was set… 

“Nice job Lelouch!” 

“Congrates!” 

“I bet all the studying paid off.” 

“You want to help me study next time?” 

All she did was silently nod and agree with that dumb smile on her face. Victory taste good…Eventually the crowd left to head to their classes and the two knights reappeared at her side once more. “We should head out to celebrate tonight! Can you believe it? We snagged the top spots! All three of us. We all got in the top five... This is amazing!” Luluko looked over at Gino with his rambling. Though, to be honest, she was pleasantly surprised with these results. Gino and Suzaku were more than competent then they let off if they managed to do so well. 

“Congratulations to the two of you as well. Those results are quite fantastic.” She smiled towards them as they continued towards their knightmare class. 

“Oh I thought I failed math… I can’t believe I only lost a couple points!” Suzaku chuckled nervously before turning his gaze towards her. “I can’t believe you passed gym either. And Gino I can’t believe you managed to sit still for more than thirty minutes. The day is filled with miracles.” Gino shot Suzaku an indignant look while Luluko snorted lightly at his jab. She didn’t take a gym final because she wasn’t in gym. Obviously. Schneizel wasn’t in gym either when he was here ten years ago or something. Luluko couldn’t bring herself to return his comment with an insult though. This was really perfect for him, being an eleven. 

The day continued with little or no more interesting things. Students and teachers continued to congratulate her. There wasn’t much work today since the papers were being passed back. Her day continued like this before an announcement called her to Ruben’s office. 

It was last period when she was called and by the time she reached him, the last bell had rung. Still, she continued towards her old friend. Ruben had been more of a father than her biological one. It was him that she went to live with after Marianne’s death. The Ashford family had protected her sister and her for many years and that gratitude didn’t leave her heart. 

“Lelouch.” The gray haired old man nodded towards her as she entered his study. “You did well. Satisfied with the results? Your family has already been informed of your achievements. Schneizel, Cornelia, Euphemia, and Nunnally send their blessing.” A light smiled flickered onto her face at the mention of her beloved younger sister. 

The congratulations from her other siblings were understandable. Schneizel and Cornelia were both over protective of her, even though they were competitors for the throne. It was interesting, because they all had a mutual understanding that if Luluko managed to remain alive and take the throne, she would do nothing to her siblings. Maybe another reason why they supported her. She would rule fairly and treat them both with respect. If anyone else was to take the throne, they would most likely execute Schneizel and Cornelia before anyone else. 

She returned her thoughts to the present as she took a seat on the chair across from the headmaster. “Thank you. I hope you didn’t bribe the teachers into letting my mistakes slide.” They shared a chuckle before Reuben brought the subject into a more serious note. 

“Luluko… This is a request from your siblings as well as myself, but you need to obtain a knight.” Not this again! Schneizel had messaged her over thirty times about this. As did Cornelia, Euphemia, and Nunnally. She didn’t need one, Luluko had assembled a fine royal guard anyways. Jeremiah would work, but she wanted to keep as the captain of her royal guard. 

“I don’t believe I require one. The school should be very secure, correct?” Her siblings would continue pressing until she obtain one…. It’s just. Luluko wasn’t ready to pick a completely foreign knight just because of his military achievements. Not everyone was as Cornelia to have such a strong connection with her Knight. Having a Knight was similar to a companion, not a human meat shield. If she was going to pick someone, it would have to be someone friendly with her. Not a puppet. Someone she actually enjoyed being around. 

Reuben choose to ignore the blatant insult and frowned towards her. “The school is perfectly fine. It’s your regular gambling trips that set as all on edge. You might be kidnaped, captures, or murdered without knowing your identity. It’s not safe.” Oh. So it was give up gambling or get a Knight? Luluko sneered slightly, honestly, sometimes it was annoying to be so close to Reuben. He knew her too well. She didn’t want either. And Knight might very well keep her from gambling in the first place. 

“Sir Weinberg and Suzaku Kururugi accompany me.” Not always… But often enough. Well. Almost never. She only brought them along if they were playing for a large sum of cash. It could get violent without someone to help out. She was about to protest again before Reuben cut her off with a knowing glare. 

“They often do not. Luluko. You need someone to keep you safe. You’re not immortal and someday you’re going to get hurt badly. As the heir, don’t you think you need someone to protect you? The emperor didn’t give you this position for you be killed. I’m surprised their highnesses didn’t force you to adopt two Knights of Honor. It would make sense. It’s only by luck that you’ve managed to live this long. The secret of your identity and location has been well kept. Once the smallest leak appears, everyone on campus will be in danger because of you. Nunnally is worried about you. For goodness sake, Schneizel had Kanon when he was here! That man may not be a Knight, but he certainly knows how to defend his Lord. You are alone. With your seventeenth birthday approaching soon, you need to take responsibility.” 

She let out a long breath before slumping a little in her seat. It was true. Everything the headmaster said was true. Luluko had been putting the evitable off for quite sometime. The moment she returned to the empire, a Knight would be required. Before that, she didn’t need one because of her low profile. “Alright. I’ll pick one soon, Sir.” 

“You have a royal guard. Pick any of them. Any of them would be glad, even honored to die for you. Luluko,” He sighed heavily and cast her a sad gaze, “You’re so young and already have so many enemies. Stay safe.” 

She nodded slowly. There was no way she was doing that. A week wasn’t enough time to meet someone new. In fact, she didn’t want one of the members of her royal guard as her knight. They were a perfect team. To take one of them away from the group, well, it would cause their formations and strategy to collapse. Well. This conversation wasn’t going to get anywhere after this. They sat in silence for a moment before Luluko glances towards the darkening sky. 

“I’ll be taking my leave now. Thank you for the warning, I will attempt to choose a perfect Knight.” She pushed herself up from the chair and smiled towards him, “Goodnight Reuben. Thank you.” Luluko headed out of the room and walked down the empty corridor towards her dorm room. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. Footsteps echoed behind her, but Luluko paid no heed. It was completely possible that it was a teacher or a student staying late. The sky outside already took on a dark blue shade with the fading sun towards the east of her. Tap. Tap. Tap. They grew louder and faster. Was someone running behind her? 

She turned towards the running footsteps out of curiosity. Who would be in a rush at this time? The dashing figure didn’t stop as they continued to charge forward. Still, she didn’t really mind. They weren’t running towards her. At this pace, they would speed to her left. Sadly, she was mistaken. 

The figure suddenly stopped once parallel to her to turned towards her and throw a furious punch. The attack caught her in jaw and caused her to stumble back, hitting the cold stone of the wall. Yeah, that was cracked. Screw dignity. Luluko opened her mouth to yell something, but a cold hand pressed against her mouth, muffling any sounds. His other hand came to push her wrists above her head. In retaliation, she brought up her knee to connect with his groin, but her attacker dodged to the right. This guy was trained… 

Well. She wished she had paid more attention and continued in combat class. Still, she had learned a couple tricks in her life. The attack, dressed in all black with a pair of shades to cover his eyes, tightened his grip on her. Luluko dropped her weight down, escaped his grip and swung for his neck. Running wasn’t an option. He was going to be faster than her no matter what. 

And sure enough, she missed and the attacker slammed her against the wall, pinned her arms against the wall and slammed his hand onto her mouth. The breath was knocked out of her as his fist connected with his rib. The crack echoed through the air, filling the quiet hallway. “You-” She yelled, but was cut off once more as the enemy brought his knee to her stomach and then followed with a punch to her stomach. She must have at least two broken ribs right now… Shit! What could she do? Continue to yell for help? Play weak? If he discovered her identity… Did he have a weapon? Probably. It seemed that he didn’t want to kill her if he hadn’t pulled it out earlier. Pain corrupted her thoughts as a blow to her right cheek was delivered. 

“Scream and I’ll break your neck.” The attacker muttered darkly and released his grip on her mouth. Luluko debated it for a second before keeping her silence. A student’s death would be overlooked… They was no reason not if he thought he could get away with it. Her eyes flickered around the hall, hoping for something to defend herself with or maybe a camera… Somewhere to hide? Even thinking now was painful. She could break for a classroom if she got free. Wasn’t it ironic Reuben just suggested for her to get a Knight? If there wasn’t internal bleeding in her body right now, Luluko would have laughed. 

“Someone like you doesn’t deserve to be first. What are you? A peasant who cheated their way up into school? Our school master is too soft... ” He muttered and fist connected sharply with her jaw. The next one was the worse - a final blow, you could call it. “Learn your lesson and leave here. Never come back. There’s no room you.” Drawing his fist back once more, it slugged Luluko in the eye. Though even worse, her head snapped back against the brick wall. From there, she wasn’t really sure what happened. Her vision blurred quickly and there was only darkness… 

*** 

Why was it so light? And loud? Was that her head? What was going on? What had happened? Was this heaven? She groaned softly and automatically tried to push herself up into a sitting position. Of course, this caused a tremendous amount of pain. Luluko collapsed onto the bed quickly with a loud hiss. Nope. She was alive. Just… In great pain. What was going on? Where was she? Hospital probably… 

The next thing Luluko observed was the extremely loud talking. Something that sounded like, “Her highness is awake! Prince Schneizel! Princess Nunnally! Your highness? Are you alright?” She could barely make out the words with the throbbing pain in body. She opened an eye slowly, adjusting to the glaring lights. After a second it was no longer necessary as it seemed someone had flickered off the lights or closed the blinds. Bless them hearts; her savior against the glaring brightness. 

Even without the brightness, it took her a couple moments for her to realize and process what the hell was going on. First things first. The voices had stopped and there seemed to be two figures kneeling next to her bed. Was that blond hair or maybe green? She couldn’t really process anything right now. Well, they seemed to be them. That was green cape, therefore it was the knight of three. She couldn’t really tell with Suzaku, but she guessed that they were here together.“Weinberg… Kururugi…” She slurred unintelligently, “Get me a painkiller.” You couldn’t expect her function under this pain. It felt like her body was contorting on itself. Later, she would look back and regret this undignified the moment, but she had been in horrible pain.

Being the crown princess had its benefits because after the doctor checked her vital signs, a needle was pushed into her arm slowly. She hissed in pain, but relaxed immediately at the drug. Within twenty minutes, the pain previously buzzing died down. Yup. Now she could actually have a conversation with whoever was kneeling there by her bed. She looked at the figures and sure enough they were indeed Suzaku and Gino. Both were kneeling with their heads bowed and their expression neutral. In addition, they were wearing full formal uniform. Well. There goes her secret.


	7. Chapter Seven - Waking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! It's kinda filler... We'll get Luluko back into school in the next one xDD Leave me a comment for ideas <3 And just things in general. Reviews will fuel my writing
> 
> THANK YOU FOR YHANNIEYHAN FOR BEING AN AMAZING BETA YES 
> 
> love her on tumblr ps. 
> 
> http://yhannieyhan.tumblr.com

It was Suzaku’s idea to head out to search for Lelouch. Gino’s eyes had flickered to the clock before quickly agreeing and slipping on a coat. After all those years of successful missions, both of them had the feeling that something was wrong. Lelouch always came back in time for studying… He never went to parties or took time off from his studies. So when the clock struck eleven, the two knights charged out the door to try and find their slightly weaker friend. 

And find him they did. The pair split in two directions: Gino checking the yard and the outside of the campus and Suzaku dashing through the halls. After ten minutes of searching, both became frantic with worry. Where was he? Lelouch never left campus at night; he always claimed it was dangerous. Even if Suzaku and Gino were both there, he refused to leave his room at night. It was unnatural for Lelouch to be out so long.

“Lelouch?!” he called as he sped through the halls. Why was this so big? He had never noticed it before, but with the halls void of students, this school was gigantic. The only sound in the entire school seemed to be the pounding of his shoes and his frequent scream of “Lelouch!”. What if Lelouch was badly hurt…? The thought only pushed him forward in his quest to find Lelouch. 

Eventually, Suzaku stumbled upon the limp body of Lelouch with blood steadily oozing out of his skull. His raven hair was stained with the sticky crimson liquid as his head was tossed limply against his shoulder. Half of his body was propped up against the stone wall as if someone had knocked him out and simply left. There were purple bruises dotting his neck and wrist. Another large purple dot surrounded Lelouch’s eye. He was no genius, but it seemed like this hurt. A lot. What had happened? 

Suzaku’s heart skipped a beat as he shakily took a step forward. What… Was Lelouch… dead? No. He couldn’t be! His feet lurched forward and Suzaku grabbed for Lelouch’s heartbeat. His fingers panically pressed for a pulse on his neck and on his chest. No. No! There had to be a pulse. Lelouch couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t lose someone else.

Was he breathing? He needed to know whether to perform CPR. Suzaku gritted his teeth and quickly unbuttoned Lelouch’s dress shirt to press a hand closer to his chest- or not. What was this? His eyes widened at the cloth. A... binder?! He had seen them before in movies, but he had never met someone who wore a binder. Or maybe it’s simply because he didn’t rip off their shirts. Heh. 

Wait. This meant Lelouch was a girl?! Lelouch. A girl. He pulled away slightly in shock of the discovery. Oh, my. His eyes widened comically as suddenly everything came together in a total sense. There was a slight pang of betrayal. 

Luckily, Suzaku snapped back to the real matter at hand as he felt for a pulse again. Sure enough, it was faint, but it was there. Relief sagged into his shoulders as he gently picked Lelouch up in his arms. 

Without a second thought, Suzaku dashed towards the nearest hospital trying not to jostle Lelouch. It felt like with every second that was passing, Lelouch’s life was draining away. People gave him strange stares and a couple rare ones even snapped racist comments, but he continued forward until he finally rushed into the lobby. The eyes of thirty people snapped to him as Suzaku quickly rambled out that Lelouch needed help. Bless that one person who rushed forward to take Lelouch from his arms and the others that went off to prepare a room.

“I have the pin of Lord Weinberg. I found him and I had been given orders to bring him - her here.” From his pocket, he slipped out the symbol. They wouldn’t have hesitated to arrest him if he hadn’t showed up here with a Britannian in his arms. Lelouch might have been forgotten in the effort to handcuff him. 

He shoved the pin back in his pocket and ran towards the hall where they had carried Lelouch. When he tried to enter the room, the doctor seemed hesitant to let him in. “Under the orders of the Knight of Three, I have the authority to enter. You’ll answer to him when I report this,” Suzaku forced out calmly. Something about the racism was endearing. He could just feel the unfriendliness pouring off of these doctors. 

His threat shook the doctor up. The man quickly moved aside for Suzaku to enter, but he stayed in the corner of the room and watched the people rush back and forth. Suzaku stood for almost ten minutes to watch them bandage Lelouch before sending a couple of quick texts to Gino. Yeah. Gino was going to murder him for not calling him sooner. 

Eventually, things calmed down and Gino arrived as well. There was a small exchange of formalities and Suzaku returned the pin to him with a smile. The pair of males took a seat next to the window as Suzaku recounted what he had discovered to Gino. A couple strained laughs were passed back and forth, but most of their eyes were trained on the rising and falling of Lelouch’s chest. Was Lelouch even her real name? 

-

Gino and Suzaku were both sleeping when a newcomer stepped into the room. The blonde figure raised an eyebrow at the knights who were snoozing away on each other’s shoulders before waving for his assistant to wake them. 

It was Gino whose eyes flickered open first. “Lelouch…?” he muttered sleepily before turning his gaze towards the bed. Nothing had changed, so why was he woken? The drowsy knight let his gaze slide to the doorway and promptly fell out of his chair. 

Oops. Poor Suzaku. Without Gino’s shoulder to lean on, Suzaku’s head had fallen onto the chair with a soft bang. He would have apologized if the second prince Schneizel wasn’t standing in front of the two of them, an amused look crossing his aristocratic features. “Your Highness! I-” He quickly scrambled to his feet and bowed.

Generally, he was never self-conscious about his appearance, but Gino was fairly sure that everything about him was undignified right now. His hair had fallen out of his braid, there were shadows under his eyes, and there was an intense aching from his back after sleeping on a chair for three hours. However, Suzaku looked even worse than him - blood stained his left arm, his hair was sticking out in all directions, and Suzaku seemed like he was about to fall over any second now. 

Schneizel waved a hand at the two of them, gesturing them to relax. “I’m glad that my sister had two excellent Knights to assist her.” 

Wait… Wait! Sister?! That meant…! His eyes flickered with panic to the sleeping person on the bed. T-The crown princess… Oh. Oh, they were so screwed. Suddenly, he regretted every conversation they had with her. He was going to be executed! Suzaku and himself teased her every day. Teasing the emperor’s favorite child and heir was generally a good way to get killed. 

Well, he might not necessarily die if Her Highness didn’t ask for it. Suzaku, on the other hand, was doomed to die painfully. His race will condemn him further than he deserved. Britannians would never step in to save an Eleven’s life… But at the same time, Suzaku did tell him about her speech on equal rights. The truth is that both of their lives rested in the mood of the royals. 

Schneizel’s smile seemed to grow in the fear of the two of them. “Sir Weinberg and Kururugi, relax. As I was not there to witness the event of my dear sister’s injury, your fates will rest in her hands. I’m quite confident she wouldn’t sentence either of you to death; Luluko’s far too soft for that.” He chuckled and took a step towards Luluko’s hospital bed.

“But I can’t say that the one who did this will be offered the same leniency.” Gino watched as Schneizel sighed softly and gripped her hand lightly. “I’ll personally kill the idiot who did this.” The prince’s eyes slide back slowly to the two of them. “Obviously, this information is private. And from here on out, protect the princess with your lives. Another failure to keep her safe and there will be no question what the punishment is.” 

Chills shot down his spine at those words. Between himself and Suzaku, they should be able to handle the princess. It would involve a slight schedule switch for them to share classes… But that would be simple to solve. “Yes, Your Highness.” Both of them bowed slightly in obedience before Schneizel continued with his orders. 

“Stay with her at all times. I have orders from the emperor and His Majesty’s will is above anything Luluko says. Tell her I said that when she threatens your lives; it’ll happen. Stop her habit of gambling, as well. When she returns to school, don’t let her step off the campus for a couple months.” Schneizel seemed to a pause for a moment before glancing towards Kanon. “There will be a debriefing folder tomorrow, but for now, I have a meeting. Do not let something like this happen again.” 

He cast a threatening gaze before nodding and leaving the room. Gino released a deep breath of air and turned towards Suzaku. The poor guy’s face was a cross between absolute shock and wanting to cry. 

“Suzaku?” Gino asked softly, “You know, Prince Schneizel said so himself: Princess Luluko wouldn’t be so harsh.” Well, at least, he thought so. 

“No. It’s not that. I’m not scared of that.” Suzaku smiled sadly. “It was my dream to serve the princess. That if I work with her, I could make changes this world needs. I bet she thinks that I’m nothing less than an idiot who’s capable of nothing. It sounds so selfish, but… If I ever had a chance meeting Her Highness, I wouldn’t want to make this kind of an impression.”

Gino stopped for a second before gently patting his back. “I doubt it. If she believed that, then she would have voiced it by now. If Her Highness wanted to, there would be no stopping her from sharing her identity with us,” he said carefully. There was really no way of telling how she would react. Both of them had only met the mask the princess was wearing; they really knew nothing about her regular life and attitude.

Silence filled the room for a couple minutes until they decided to stand and prepare themselves to keep Her Highness company in her room once more. 

+break+ 

She woke slowly after the first time. Everything was spinning at first, but after couple minutes, the hospital room began to take shape. Her eyes flickered around the room, as the memories started flooding back. Ah… Schneizel was going to murder her. And she had to face Gino and Suzaku later. Oh gosh. 

Luluko let out a sigh and stared at the bandages covering her head and abdominal area. What time was it? It seemed to be dark outside. She turned her head slightly to the side and pressed the button on the wall to call for a nurse. She could just threaten one for information while they check her vital signs- 

Huh. They were fast. The door swung open to reveal Gino and Suzaku, who looked absolutely horrid, and a pair of doctors followed by two nurses. Schneizel must have the entire staff tending to her. Honestly, her older brother was too protective. In fact, the entire empire treated her like a piece of stained glass. Was it really necessary? After all, she killed multiple people out of cold blood. She wasn’t exactly the most innocent person. 

Her eyes flickered to Gino and Suzaku as the doctors moved forward to give her a couple new bandages near her abs. Compared to the two Knights, she looked like a model. It looked like they’d been awake for a couple days. She shifted slightly to focus on them, but it seemed like the both of them refused to make eye contact. Was it disappointment that she felt...? Luluko sighed lightly and shifted away to watch the nurses. 

It took ten minutes for them to finish before leaving the room with a slight bow. Luluko nodded slightly in return before letting her gaze trail back to the Knights. Honestly, she was unsure what to make of the situation. 

“Your Highness-” Luluko sighed slowly, here we go. Oh boy, all she needed was another speech on begging for forgiveness. She almost looked death in the eye and people were still groveling. Weren’t the Knights suppose to have some spunk? “Suzaku and I apologize deeply for everything-” 

She cut him off with a wave of a hand, “Don’t. I am in an extreme amount of pain and your begging doesn’t help.” Gino flinched at the comment before bowing. Obviously, that wasn’t the right thing to say. Now she was just adding salt to the wound.“Whatever Schneizel informed you about me is wrong. Is it so hard to believe that I don’t want you dead?” 

Gino and Suzaku shifted before bowing again and thanking her. After a couple minutes, they both seemed to relax a bit. Whatever, she’d deal with them after she wasn’t so tired... With that, her eyes floated shut. 

It seemed like she slept for years because when she woke again three days had passed. Apparently, the doctors dosed her with something to guarantee rest. A wise option, knowing Luluko, she would have tried to stand immediately and damaged the healing process. She tried pushing herself into a sitting position before wincing. Ah. Not yet. She settled for pushing another two pillows to prop herself up higher. 

There were a couple of peaceful minutes before Suzaku burst through the door dressed in his formal uniform. “Your highness…!” Nope. Too loud. 

“You’re too loud, idiot,” she snapped out not so kindly... and then instantly regretted it. Suzaku shrank back like a scared dog. It felt strange to have your previous roommates, who teased her constantly, flinch at everything. She let a couple moments pass, wondering how to deal with the situation. 

“Suzaku.” She smiled lightly, “Come here.” Gino and Suzaku were both simple people. A couple kind words and they would be with you until the end of the world. Neither seemed to question her motives. 

She watched as Suzaku bowed again and stepped forward nervously as if she was going to call for his sudden execution. Because yes, in her state, she was going to pull out a gun and send a bullet flying through his brain. “Am I really that different from Lelouch? I don’t think I’ve changed as much as you believe, except for the broken bones.” 

There was a slight pause in Suzaku’s speech before he answered, still not making eye contact, “No, your highness. Of course not. I wouldn’t think less of you. It just changes our ranks and our positions. My apologies if I offended you. I apologize again, for not coming earlier.” 

“Suzaku.” Her voice suddenly hard, holding a bit of a rough tone. “Don’t apologize. Thank for saving me. I’ll remind you that at Ashford, I had the decision to reveal myself to you and Gino. I would have if the both of you bothered me. I treated the both of you the exact same way you treated me.” Luluko paused for a second. 

“It must be hard to adjust back, but when I return to school, you and Gino still need to call me Lelouch.” 

Clearly, that didn’t go well with Suzaku - on many levels. Luluko rolled her eyes before speaking again, “What else do you want to address me as? Any titles are out the window. I came in secrecy for a reason. I wouldn’t be offended, and it is on my personal orders.” She sighed lightly, “Don’t worry so much. Although many beg to differ, I have a heart. I wouldn’t order the execution of someone innocent.” 

Suzaku nodded in respect before a quiet, “Yes, your majesty.” Luluko waved her hand in dismissal. He clearly looked extremely uncomfortable. She’d discuss this with him after her body wasn’t half broken. 

 

\- 

Run. 

Run. 

He wanted to escape. The room was suffocating. He hated it. It was his chance…! But he couldn’t. He was a coward. Suzaku bowed again to the princess before leaving the room. He slumped against the wall outside the second after. His dream had low chances originally… But now? Never. He had seen the look she gave at him. It was nothing less than disgust. 

His breath slowed down as he leaned his head against the wall. His chance was gone forever. Why? Why was this so hard? He sighed again, ignoring the looks the doctors gave him. It hurt. It hurt to know that these months were a lie. It hurt to know that the princess thought he was a fool. It hurt. 

He didn’t know which was more devastating. Lelouch was important to him. He - She was important to him. Lelouch had stood up for him when Gino was gone and he had accepted his race. They had memories of friendly lunches, gambling matches, and constant teasing. With Lelouch not as Lelouch anymore, it was all changed. How? How could he just accept that he had been doing this with the future heir? It wasn’t just a normal girl… No. This was the princess. The princess that could kill anyone she wished. 

What could he do? He was embarrassed and worried. But Lelouch- the princess, had promised. She had promised that she wasn’t mad… What could he do, but wait and watch? After all, Suzaku had accepted long ago that he was only a piece on the board. Luluko was the one running the game. Sighing slowly, he pushed himself to his feet to inform Gino of what had happened. Times like this, their rank did seem to kick in.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow update! I kinda want to rewrite this entire thing, so that might happen. I don't really know myself how far into this story I want to continue more. I am working on something else, sadly not fem!Lelouch, but an AU.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave a review for me! They certainly do fuel me to write.

Luluko was back in school with a cast on her arm in about… give or take three weeks. 

By the end, she was sick of people. There were at least three visits a day, starting with the knights who decided to check on her. The Knights of the Round all popped by and it was horrible. Luluko was sure it was her father’s doing. Her royal guard appeared to visit her as well, promising to beat that ‘Eleven’ and Gino for letting this happen to her. They were over protective as well. 

Gino and Suzaku stayed whenever they were ordered to. It was obvious how nervous they, mostly Suzaku, were to be around her. Luluko could understand, but she could only continue to show them she wasn’t about to slit their throats. 

Her relatives were… far worse. Schneizel was over protective. Cornelia was over protective. Euphemia and Nunnally were over protective. Everyone seemed to treat her like a delicate doll or a precious jewel too beautiful to be scratched. Half of her siblings gave her condolences on having to deal with poor people. And the other half vowed to rip her attacker limb from limb. And there was this small, tiny percentage (Nunnally and Euphemia) who actually seemed to care. Seeing her two favorite sisters again was very nice… Perhaps worth it all to hold Nunnally’s hand again. 

Anyways, she was moved back into the dorm with Gino and Suzaku flanking her on either side. Suzaku insisted on carrying her bag of medicines and other gifts from her siblings, when it weighed nothing and she could herself. It was even more strange when Gino opened the door for her and held it open. She had lived half a year without these formalities and suddenly they were back. Luluko offered them a glance before stepping through the door to their dorm. 

Whoa. The place was clean... It never was when she was Lelouch. For one, there weren’t boxers thrown everywhere. Even their video game cords were placed in the correct place. Damn. Did things change so quickly? “Where would you like your bag, your highness?” Suzaku’s question snapped her out of her thoughts. 

What happened to the two idiots she bonded with? It sounded sappy now, but she missed their stupid grins and constant laughter. Her eyes flickered to Suzaku and Gino, frowning lightly. Gino seemed a bit more relaxed than Suzaku at least. Hell, at least he was smiling at the ground. But still, both of them refused to meet her eyes. Good knights didn’t, of course. What could she do? Luluko didn’t want knights, or in other words, meat shields. 

It was easy to tell once she glanced over at the Knights, especially the shorter one. Suzaku was scared. What was he scared of? Most likely of her disapproval, worrying for his life, and scared that everything would be ripped away from her. Sadly, there was no solution for that horrible feeling of uncertainty. 

What would the possible solution? How could she possibly show the both of them that she was grateful for being saved, instead of hate filled? 

She must have seemed strange, standing the middle of the room staring off into space in thought. Although, neither Knights had the gut to question her. Of course, it was for the better. Luluko wouldn’t have responded anyways. 

The number of times she informed them to stop acting so cold and distant had reached much too far. Words wouldn’t solve her situation now. Nor would a report filled with praised… She had already tried that. Medals? No. Neither of them cared about awards, especially Suzaku. 

It hurt to wonder if things would be damaged forever between them. She liked the knight. Luluko admired Suzaku’s heart and his kindness towards everyone. Nunnally would approve of this once she meets him in the future. It was a waste to allow someone so useful to drift off. 

Hm. The thought had occurred to her earlier this year, but she dismissed it since it seemed so distant. If she remember correctly, Suzaku had informed her that it was his dream to work by her side, no? Well, if she bound Suzaku to herself, he would have no choice in staying. Although, it didn’t seem like he would be disappointed with the situation. 

With that thought, Luluko dropped onto the side of the bed and blinked up the Knights. They hadn’t moved from where they stood yet. Oh. Had she forgotten to answer the question? Hmm, she still wasn’t use to her closest thing to friends waiting for orders. The Suzaku and Gino she knew would have tossed them sloppily to the corner. “By the bed is fine. Thank you.” 

The rest of the night continued with Suzaku and Gino being stiff idiots. She quickly adjusted to studying overtime over the rest of the week, and the pair of males remained… stiff idiots. It was only on Saturday, when she was curled on the edge of her bed with book on history, she finally felt the frustration of weeks of formality boil over. 

She was rash in moments of anger, which resulted in regret. Luckily for Luluko, jumping directly to this idea and spewing it out of her mouth was possibly one of the best things she’d ever do. 

“Suzaku Kururugi.” 

The previously quiet room had some managed to cease all sound. Suzaku had frozen from scribbling his math homework to quickly look up at her, holding his breath. Gino too stared up at her from his phone.  
The fear was evident in their eyes. 

Luluko had decided this. She would follow through. The ritual for this was already started. 

Besides, Suzaku was capable. Suzaku was ready. He was a good pilot and very loyal. Ah, he wasn’t the smartest, but Luluko could supply enough intelligence for all of them. The more her mind raced about this, the more she convinced herself it would be good fit. Kururugi would be useful to her. There would be no problem. 

“Suzaku Kururugi,” she called again, this time, the knight stood from his position as she pushed herself to stand from the side of the bed. 

“Yes, your highness?” Suzaku asked slowly. Oh, she was going to be murdered by Schneizel for this. Luckily, Luluko never really cared what others thought of her. Her father wouldn’t do anything either. It would be unbreakable and besides, she would acquire another loyal guard and they could simply keep it off the official news. 

“Swear yourself to me.” 

Silence. The sound of the knight’s breathing stopped. Even the rustle of the trees outside quieted for this moment. Suzaku stepped back slowly as his eyes widened.

“Private Suzaku Kururugi, swear yourself to be my sword and shield. To serve me until death and no other name. To serve as the Vi Britannia’s line protector. To dedicate yourself to nothing, but my happiness and safety. Swear yourself, and everything of yourself, to me.” She paused for a moment before looking at Gino, “Knight of Three, act as my witness.” 

It wasn’t hesitation in Suzaku’s eyes. No. It was shocking. She watched as he stumbled over to kneel. Of course, much much later, Luluko would tease him about this. Certainly now, it would destroy the mood if she said anything. 

-

He could feel himself shaking as he dropped to one knee in front of Luluko. His eyes trained slowly on the ground and head bowed, as he feared to look up into the vibrant purple orbs. His right arm was crossed over to rest of his heart, while the other was behind his back, the proper position to swear fatality.

There were moments in Suzaku’s life where he was extremely confused, and this was certainly on top of that list. 

Moments ago, he was mentally cursing himself for falling asleep in math class. Two months ago, he would have no problem asking Lelouch for help, but as much as Her Highness was against it, Suzaku still thought of them as two separate people. He couldn’t exactly bother a princess for help with math. 

So, he sat there and scribbled random numbers in an effort to at least pass it off as finished. Maybe later he could ask Gino for help… If he understood it. The teacher would throw a comment about his race and immediately dismiss him afterwards. There was no one else in the school who’d be willing to help him…! 

Damn, he was screwed for the next test! Why did he have to make the mistake of falling asleep? Why did these things always happen to him? What did the world have against him, really? He let out a breath before returning to scribbling random numbers. 

Ten minutes in, he turned to observe the others. Gino and Lelouch- No. Princess watching was a favorable pass time. For example, Gino seemed to be furiously texting instead of doing homework. Her Highness was dressed comfortably in a t-shirt and shorts. 

Honestly, now that he saw it, Suzaku had to wonder why he didn’t guess before. Even with the contacts, Lelouch had looked strikingly feminine and built exactly like the princess. The entire school must have been filled with idiots to miss this complete, but then, Lelouch strived to avoid attention. Well, she had accomplished that perfectly- 

That train of thought was smashed to pieces as his name was called. Not just his name, of course. His full name. Suzaku Kururugi. Luluko never called him by that, unless she was upset or worse, disappointed. He met her eyes for a moment before turning them down respectfully. 

Suzaku was about to ask her if she needed anything when- Hell. 

That command. The command he dreamed of hearing for so many years from her. The command he forged as his hopeless dream to bring changed. The command he centered his life around to accomplish. Everything he ever hoped for... To serve royalty like this… _Swear yourself to me._

All the blood in his body ran cold as he attempted to work his mouth to answer. What... Was this really happening... How... Was this a dream, possibly? He attempted to push himself off of such a disgraceful position on the bed to at least remain semi-professional. Sadly, his wrist gave out from under him, and he almost fell off the bed. 

Eyes wide, he stared at Luluko, wondering if she would continue. Maybe she said it as an accident? That horrible, self-destroying doubt creeped in for another moment. Of course Luluko would never ask for him. He was an Eleven and she was the Crown Princess. How could she possibly want anything to do with him? 

Immediately though, she continued with the oath. Every Knight, soldier, military man, had this memorized. If require, he could recite this with her. After all, this was the highest honor that could be given. Still, his body was completely frozen as she continued. Shock was really all he could feel. Yes. This was real. Luluko wanted him. 

Hell. The Crown Princess wanted him. 

It was only after the entire speech was finished, he managed to push himself up with shaky legs and stumble over to kneel. It happened so fast, he’d feel happy later. At this moment, he moved with instinct. He moved through the years of training he went through for this.  
Allowing his mind to go blank, the words easily roll off his tongue. “Yes, your majesty.” He whispered. Suzaku was still shaking with a mixture fear, excitement, and nervousness, but the ritual must proceed forward. “My life is yours, your highness. I swear my soul, body, mind to your service and whatever you ask of me. The Vi Britannia line, my only priority. Your safety and happiness, my only objective.” 

The words hung in the air for a moment before Luluko smiled, “I accept your oath. Rise, Suzaku Kururugi.” He… Wasn’t sure he physically could. Still, his Lady had given a command and to death, he’d follow her. Although even without the oath, Suzaku would have followed her to hell and back if she allowed it. 

He rose slowly, his eyes still cast down on the ground. “Thank you, your highness,” Suzaku whispered softly, feeling a warm blossom of happiness. It was going to a week or month for him to truly process this, maybe more. How could this have been possible? 

“Suzaku.” He almost flinched back her hands came to hold his. The princess’s hands were so soft… Her thumb gently skimmed over the top of his hand as she chuckled. Luluko shifted his hands to stare the palms before tracing a line over his palm. Eventually, the princess stopped and simply held their hands in front of them. 

A blush appeared on his cheek, immediately after the first touch. His heart sped up, as he prayed his bangs covered the blooming red. How… Could the princess touch him like a friend? How could she… be like this... Why didn’t she hate him? How had he come to deserve? She was so warm, so beautiful, and so perfect.

“You weren’t afraid to look Lelouch in the eye.” Her voice gentle, as if talking to an injured child. By the way, Luluko would inform Suzaku later that he did remind her of one. “Suzaku wasn’t afraid to tease Lelouch about how fragile he was, to smile at him purely, to ask for math homework, and to insult his failure in video games. So why?” 

There was no way he could answer that. She was the princess and he was a Number. There would always be that difference. Even though he had joined into her personal guard’s ranks, he would never be able to bother her. It just wasn’t right. “...You’re scared.” Her voice had softened, if that was even possible. Honestly, it scared Suzaku a bit that Luluko could look at him with such innocent and caring eyes, but still be capable of destroying countries if she wished. 

“You’re scared of me.” He froze at that, tension building in his stance. No. He wasn’t. Luluko had erased that fear during the hospital room. Suzaku was very aware that she wouldn’t harm him. “Scared of what I’ll say. Scared that I’ll toss you away the moment you fail me. Scared that if you’re yourself, like for Lelouch, I’ll hate you.” 

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Wait. No. Suzaku winced at what she said, jerking his shoulder lightly in surprise. The entire nation was like that though. It wasn’t just him! It was just respect. Pure respect for the Princess. It was nothing else... Beside, he was scared of disappointing her. Wasn’t everyone? “Still, though. You are. If you were Britannian and noble, you wouldn’t be worrying this even now. You swore to me and I accepted it. Suzaku, I want you to join me because of your fantastic skills and your personality. There is close to nothing you could do that would make me regret this.” 

No one. No one had said that to him before. Being with him because of… him? Idea sounded impossible to him. His own father only knew how to push, Gino wasn’t sappy enough for that, and the rest of the army was only interested using him as meat shield/fighter. To hear this from someone, especially his hero, it was heart wrenching. 

How could the princess be so kind to him? He glanced up at her through his curls before slowly straightening and smiling. “Thank you, your highness.” 

He’d try to lose the title someday, but today wasn’t that day. 

\- 

After the princess and Suzaku had their little heart to heart, he appeared behind Suzaku and roughly clapped him on the back once Luluko left to change in the bathroom. “You deserved it. Congrats, Suzaku.” He grinned happily as he draped himself over Suzaku, his equivalent of a hug. 

You know, while Suzaku was suffering under the eye of Luluko, Gino was pretty happy. His gay crisis disappeared. His commoner crisis disappeared. Sadly, Luluko being oblivious was a problem, and Suzaku mentally crushing on the princess without even him realizing was a problem. 

Not that he was evil enough to destroy Suzaku’s sliver of happiness because of his own idiotic feelings. “Lelouch?” Raising his voice enough to run the risk of being overheard, “Dinner on me? To celebrate? I’m glad Suzaku won’t whimper your name anymore in his sleep.” 

While Suzaku blushed furiously at an outrageous comment and most likely the least formal thing they’ve said in weeks now. Besides, the princess requested to be treated like Lelouch, correct? What kind of a pathetic Knight would he be to ignore requests? 

Luluko’s laughter echoed from the bathroom, the most genuine they’ve heard in months now. Gino grinned at Suzaku and nudged his arm. Why, he had more! “He was close to tears over disappointing you in the hospital! This one will be a loyal, little puppy till the end.” Whoa. For that one, he actually had to dodge a playful shove from Suzaku. 

Luckily, he was smiling as well. The idiot was probably only smiling from Luluko’s approval. Suzaku’s loyalty was terrifying, sometimes. Hell, he was terrifying during any emotion. 

“Of course,” Luluko smirked as she stepped out of the bathroom. Dressed in a pair of sport shorts and t-shirt, her royalty was masked perfectly. “I’ll treat the both of you.” 

The night was spent with Suzaku blushing every couple minutes due to him, Luluko seemed happy, and Gino enjoyed being with the two of them. Although he’d never be so sappy, he cared for the two of them beyond imagination. 

Yes. He’d easily give his life for the princess as well. If possible, he’d revoke his oath to the emperor to serve her. He’d be killed immediately for that… Well, he could still work on missions with the princess. 

-

School flew by for Gino. Classes, taking care of the princess (he’d never call it that to her face), and training for the apparently upcoming war with the Chinese Federation consumed his time completely. So, when finals swung around, he was confused. 

How did the days pass so fast? He was only mocking Suzaku for taking that oath days ago, it seemed. Hell, that was horrifying to think of. Now, he had taken his last final and their little trio was sitting on the grass, waiting for scores. 

After this, all they had was a class field trip for a week and they parted their separate ways until next year. Although… Not really. They would all see each other, but just not in this sense. 

They would smile at each other occasionally, exchange a couple words, and commands, but never like this. Not like this until next year. It would be three months without seeing the Crown Princess and his Japanese friend every day. Huh. 

Well, summer would be interesting. They’d have to deal with an upcoming war along with publishing Suzaku’s oath... 

But before that, the entire school was taking a trip to the hot springs three days from now. Apparently next to a festival, Britannia-ifed of course, and other activities. Hiking the mountains, swimming, and an overall relaxing time should be had by all! 

Of course, minus Luluko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to revise the entire thing because I detest my own writing. So much cringe. Next update may be slow, but I think we're nearing the end of this later as well... 
> 
> Also! If anyone has the free time to beta for me? That would be amazing. Thank you!

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment and review?


End file.
